Students in the Class of 2024 have brought new talent and creativity to Rensselaer. Inventors and creators abound. One student spent more than 1,000 hours designing and creating all of the aspects of a story-driven video game including the music, art, and code. Others have invented a mobile phone amplifier projector, developed a project that detects signs of life in a car to prevent people from accidentally leaving their children or pets inside, and created a patent-pending solar-powered water desalinization backpack for refugees.
Students in the class readily give of their time to helps others. One student is a beekeeper who teaches farmers beekeeping practices so that they can use honeybees to optimize their crops. Another student started Meducate, a nonprofit that creates and hosts traveling clinics in central and northern New Jersey to bring health care to the underserved. And one of our students is the youngest nationally certified search personnel of the National Association for Search and Rescue.
Our new students have pushed themselves in challenging ways. One student has participated in national waterskiing competitions, while another swam across San Francisco Bay to Alcatraz. A Boy Scout in the class completed the Presidential Traverse in the White Mountains and summited Mount Kilimanjaro!
Musical talent is abundant as well. One member of the class is part of an “eco-orchestra” that performs on instruments made out of fruits and vegetables. Others have sung the national anthem at the U.S. Open and played piano at Carnegie Hall.
No matter what their talents are, the Class of 2024 will surely bring new vitality to campus. Welcome to Rensselaer, Class of 2024!
