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To the editor:
I just had to write in to you and express my thanks to the Gloucester Education Foundation and to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
My son, Benjamin, attended O'Maley school as a sixth-grader this past year and the only word I can use to describe his year is to say that he thrived.
He is very interested in science and has even attended a robotics class at North Shore Community College.
In April, however, a paper came home from school telling us about the chance for 40 students to attend a program sponsored by the Gloucester Education Foundation.
This program would send these students on a two-week journey, including five days at MIT and five days at the Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center. He sent in his application within a few days and he anxiously waited for the response. He received his letter saying he made it in and the excitement began.
All I can say about this program is that he has had a blast. Every day, he has spent at least an hour telling us about all the "stuff" he has done that day. I cannot tell you how happy I was to come home from work on his first day and hear my son say "Mom, I want to go to MIT!"
The enthusiasm he has been showing tells us that these weeks will be the highlight of his summer. I have heard all about strobe lights and photography; ROVs and engines and propellers; rocket launchers and all sorts of incredible scientific things.
I have written a "thank you" letter to our contact with the program, asking that they keep a space open for him at MIT in the fall of 2017.
What a fabulous program to have available to our children in these grades — one that allows them to follow their interests in such a fun and yet educational way.
I thank both the Gloucester Educational Foundation and MIT for this opportunity for my son.
KAREN L. HUNTER
Gloucester
