MacArthur High School students Juan Ramos and Amena Jamali have been invited to participate in the 2014 White House Science Fair hosted by President Obama on Tuesday, May 27. Juan and Amena will attend the White House Science Fair as result of their award winning business idea- Better Than History. Better Than History is a digitally downloadable game that allows players to select alternate endings to historic events thereby answering the age old question “What if I could change the course of history?”
Juan is a senior and the recent recipient of the Gates Foundation Millennium Scholarship Award. Juan plans to attend UT Austin in the fall and double major in Computer Science and Business at the prestigious McCombs School of Business. Juan emigrated with his family from El Salvador 3 years ago not knowing a word of English and states that “hard work and determination definitely pays off.”
Amena is a junior and is actively involved in the Academic Team, participated in an Independent Student and Mentorship Project regarding US National Security, was selected for an on-line study program with Harvard University. She is currently ranked number one in her class and plans to apply to Harvard University in the fall.
Both Juan and Amena attended Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) entrepreneurship training at MacArthur High School and were finalists and award winners in NFTE business plan competitions both in Texas and nationally.
This year’s White House Science Fair will include a specific focus on girls and women who are excelling in STEM and inspiring the next generation with their work. The President began the tradition of hosting White House Science Fairs in 2009 when he launched his Educate to Innovate campaign to inspire more girls and boys to excel in STEM subjects. As the President has noted, “If you win the NCAA championship, you come to the White House. Well, if you’re a young person and you produce the best experiment or design, the best hardware or software, you ought to be recognized for that achievement, too.”
