Sam M. '07

I was born and raised in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania - a little-known state capital most famous for averting nuclear disaster, lottery fraud, and intelligent design. Among my many achievements growing up there, I won the school spelling bee in both fifth and seventh grade, played Captain Von Trapp #2 in our double-cast high school musical, auditioned for all-state chorus and all-state band, and invented taco salad.

With accolades like these on my resume, I was a natural choice for the MIT class of 2007. And so I made the trek up to Cambridge that fall with little more than the clothes on my back, a free mountain bike, and the dream of one day becoming an actuary who saves the world through rigorous life insurance rate calculations. However, by the end of my first year at MIT I had discovered that math class is tough, as Barbie once said, and abandoned that life goal. Two months and two majors later I was an aspiring chemical engineer, working under Professor Jeff Tester to refine a process which will turn discarded turkey carcasses into usable fuel instead of into bread crust. I love it because it's challenging, important research, not to mention a great conversation topic for family gatherings.

Most of my extra-curricular activities here are a result of me deciding to do something as a joke and then ending up completely in love with it. Examples include joining the MIT Marching Band, running the Boston Marathon, finding a summer internship in Germany, planning social events for Tau Beta Pi, and becoming an MITblogger. I'd most like to be famous for being a rock star or the winner of Project Runway, but at this point I'll settle for making a landmark contribution to the field of sustainable energy. My ultimate life goal is to have an SI unit of measurement named after me.