Getting to know ... Nathan Burwig

Nathan Burwig certainly has a bright future ahead of him. Thanks to his hard work, determination and willingness to accept challenges, he is ready to take on the world.

Burwig is a Thompson Falls High School junior, whose maturity is at a level far beyond that. He has plans, and he is taking control of his destiny.

Recently, Burwig was accepted into a Montana Apprenticeship Program (MAP) focused on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) programs at Montana State University (MSU) in Bozeman. This Montana GEAR Up, 4-week course, will give Burwig a taste of college life. He will take college-level academic courses in math, writing, engineering, science, research and college skill development.

"I will go and take a certain amount of courses, and if I do well, I pass the course," Burwig stated. He added that upon successful completion of the program, he will receive a stipend of $800. "I will save the money for college, or potentially go on a big trip to get out of Thompson Falls for a bit," he said while still deciding on what to do with the money. "But there is a good chance I will just save it for college."

"When you're hot, you're hot!" the saying goes. Burwig is on a hot streak no doubt. He was recently accepted into QuestBridge as well, a college preparatory scholars program geared toward giving an advantage to high-achieving students who excel academically. The program has contacts with 40 of the nation's best colleges, including Ivy League schools. His name is now included on a specialized list of recommended students for acceptance into those colleges.

Burwig reported that the application was a brutal one. "There was one long essay and several 400-word short answer questions." The questions ranged from community involvement, basics about lifestyle and some multiple-choice questions to determine interests.

"There were just over 4,000 accepted, out of 11,000 plus applicants!" Burwig said with amazement, showing extreme humility when discussing his accomplishments. (Penny Beckman, Thompson Falls GEAR Up representative, reiterated that acceptance into QuestBridge is a big deal, as it is, in her words, "Very competitive!")

Burwig just returned from a week-long Montana GEAR Up Yellowstone Ecology Project International (EPI) course. Due to his advanced scientific skills levels, he was selected to take part in an actual research project, where all data sets he collected will be used in scientific research. In most cases, these programs only teach students how to implement the scientific method in developing a hypothesis, collecting and analyzing data, and drawing an informational-based conclusion on an exercise-only basis, without using the collected data to ensure accuracy.

In addition, EPI allowed Burwig to develop his own scientific hypothesis and determine how he would carry out the research. "Kole (Stone), Cody (Williams) and I, we were some of the older kids in the group, so the counselors gave us the OK to design our own personal project," Burwig stated. "We were the first group they let do that, and we decided we would research where bison might go if released outside Yellowstone."

Upon further plan development, the group determined the research project would take three years to complete. For now, this is something that will not fit into any of the Thompson Falls High School boys' schedules. But who knows what the future may hold for them.

Next year Burwig will be a senior. Most last-year high school students decide they have worked hard enough, and take a class period off, just to relax a bit. But not Burwig, "I will not have a skip period, I want to cram as much in as possible," he said.

As for college, Burwig's plans are to attend either San Diego State or MSU. His dream is to continue studies in physics, engineering, and computer sciences. "Ideally, I want to find a job in academia. I want to be able to learn a lot of really cool things, math and science is what I want to do!" Burwig said with assurance.

Nathan will dedicate himself to academics while he continues to partake in his many extra-curricular activities including: running cross country, pep band, concert band, robotics, Envirothon, EPI, and music (which he is extraordinarily gifted in as well). He just started playing the French horn this year, in addition to the guitar, piano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophones, trumpet and percussion.

"My favorite is the piano. There is nothing better than sitting down at the piano and letting loose. It feels very free." He commented that with the piano, there are so many more note capabilities versus other instruments, giving depth to the instrument.

The piano is a good representation of Burwig's character. The complexity of the instrument seems overwhelming to most, but to people like Burwig, the more challenging something is, the more enticing it is. Experience shows he will take on that challenge until he perseveres.