Young Scholars 
Grant IMpacts

Better, healthier lives are being cultivated through the Carver Green Thumb Club! More than ten students actively participate in this after-school club twice a week, learning from a Master Gardener at the Dick Young Greenhouse in George Washington Carver Academy. The club’s goal is to learn how to care for plants and make healthy snacks after each harvest. To further enhance learning, they received funding to visit an organic strawberry farm, the Cedar Valley Arboretum, and the Black Hawk Waste Management Treatment Center. This allowed them to take learning on the road, increasing their plant knowledge and decision-making skills.

It takes top-notch skills to make it as a chef in a high-end restaurant, and the students on the West High Culinary Arts Team are certainly on their way to reaching this goal!  These outstanding students have won the State’s ProStart Invitational for two consecutive years.  As a result, they’ve qualified for the National ProStart Invitational, the nation’s premier high school culinary arts and restaurant management competition.  The Waterloo Schools Foundation has provided funding each year to cover travel expenses and entry fees.  It is a very tasty learning experience that excites and prepares them to be future leaders in the foodservice industry.

East High School student, Nathan Schmidt, is one example of the many outstanding students we have in our District. His passion and interest in physics have helped him receive three different Young Scholars Grants from the Waterloo Schools Foundation to conduct experiments and attend academic summer camps. His work with Tesla Coils and a UNI professor helped him secure a spot at the National Junior Science and Humanities Symposium his sophomore year of high school. Nathan is the first Waterloo student to ever compete in this prestigious competition. One day, he hopes to use the important skills he’s acquired to become an astrophysicist.