Jennifer Zhang, 2022 Binghamton High School graduate and winner of the Rod Serling Memorial Foundation scholarship, shares Rod’s faith in the goodness of people and their ability to triumph over their own failings:
“The sheer volume of information that humans have access to has grown exponentially since Rod Serling’s time, but while there are negative sides, the internet is simultaneously the best tool for combatting the darkness.” This place of connection offers “common ground for millions of people as they meet like- or unlike-minded people from all over the world” and “will become humanity’s next movement for positive change.”
Jenn possesses the talent and tools to participate in that change, and she has cultivated them. She’s a debater. She’s a member of multiple honor societies. She sang in choir and mixed chorus. She speaks Chinese, English, and French.
And she communicates in far more than words. She played in the BHS String Orchestra and Steel Drum Band. She draws and paints in watercolors, acryllic paint, graphite, gouache, colored pencils, charcoal, not to mention creating collage and embroidery.
She cultivated skills in leadership, teamwork, critical thinking, problem solving, project management, conflict resolution, time management, creativity, and customer service. She pursued her interests in film and photography in her spare time because her class and activity schedules had no space for them.
Are you tired yet? Jenn wasn’t. She competed for her alma mater in both indoor and outdoor track & field, played tennis, and won Scholar Athlete awards in 2018 and 2019. She volunteered in the theater and worked in a community garden program, helping youth to grow fresh and organic produce using sustainable methods.
Jenn has found so many ways to touch the world, and to be touched by it. This Fall, she will begin a new chapter in that interaction. The Rod Serling Memorial Foundation Scholarship will help Jenn pursue her love of Fine Arts at SUNY in New Paltz, New York.
We wish her every success!
