2009 Connections Academy Super Seniors
Image Source: Image West Photography
Dillon Ross, INSPIRE, The Idaho Connections Academy
In these tough financial times, when the news is full of tales of greed, financial wrong-doings and “me first” attitudes, it’s a refreshing change of pace to hear about a young person who has fulfilled a life-long dream of public service. That’s the story of young Emmett resident Dillon Ross, who recently became Boise County Ambulance’s newest EMT, fulfilling a goal of public service he has “been planning my whole life.”
Ross, who is graduating from INSPIRE, the Idaho Connections Academy, the virtual charter school, credits the school with helping him achieve his dream. An INSPIRE student since the school opened in 2005, Ross says its flexible curriculum and scheduling were key to his success. The virtual school allowed him to go deeper into subjects he enjoyed, like history and sign language – he is an ASL interpreter -- and still round out the education he needed to reach his dreams of being a public servant.
Ross has already started studying to become an EMT-Paramedic. In the future he may also pursue an associate’s of fire science degree to become a firefighter.
INSPIRE, the Idaho Connections Academy, was approved by the Idaho Charter School Commission, and first started serving students in 2005. INSPIRE serves students in grades K–12 from anywhere in Idaho. The INSPIRE charter includes a first-of-its-kind partnership with Boise State University, in which the University assists with teacher training, curriculum development, and research and evaluation.
Geoffrey Wall, Arizona Connections Academy
Geoffrey Wall is like any other 17-year-old boy; he takes karate classes, plays video games and often finds himself doing homework at midnight. The difference between Wall and every other graduating Arizona high school senior? Wall has been asked to teach at ASU’s CampGame this summer, a position he accepted before his high school graduation. CampGame is an ASU program that teaches middle school and high school students video game design, production and development.
Wall is a graduating senior of Arizona Connections Academy (ACA), a fully credited public virtual school, which has allowed him the flexibility to quickly advance in his field. Working with ACA, Wall was able to choose when he did his school work, which gave him the freedom to fully pursue his interest in 3D design and animation.
Having officially finished his course work in December, Wall has been busy honing his 3D art skills and developing a game on his own. He is also working on a book with some of the other CampGame teachers – basically a textbook on how to teach video game development. Wall has also been busy visiting local high schools to discuss CampGame and 3D design with computer and technology students.
“Geoff is a new breed of computer technologist,” said Ashish Amresh, CampGame instructor and ASU School of Computing and Informatics lecturer. “His enthusiasm to learn cutting edge software and ability to understand and use game technology at such a young age is outstanding.”
Starting this fall, Wall will attend ASU’s Herberger College of the Arts as an Art major. He will also be enrolled in the Art Track in the School of Computing and Informatics Computer Gaming Certificate program.