2015 Nominee - Brady Cramer
Brady Cramer - 2015
ST. JOHNS - A break from the regular school schedule is something that all students look forward to each summer. That's certainly true for St. Johns High School juniors Brady Cramer and Alex Rosenbaum, although part of their summer vacation will involve a return to the classroom - but not in St. Johns.
Brady will hone his already competent saxophone skills at the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy in northern Michigan, while Alex is set to learn about life sciences as a participant in the Summer Scholars program at Notre Dame University in South Bend, Ind.
To say that the "Redwings to Watch" duo is excited about their summer plans is most definitely an understatement.
"Science has always been fascinating to me, and to be selected for the life sciences camp at Notre Dame is a real honor," Alex says about his two-week stay on the ND campus that involves two major areas of study, Ecology and Environmental Science and the Molecular Genetics of Disease.
Brady feels the same about his acceptance into Interlochen's High School Saxophone Institute that's part of the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp.
"I'll be working with Dr. Timothy McAllister where we will play for seven to eight hours a day participating in ensembles and also get private lessons and study music theory and musicianship," he says about the week-long schedule that provides a true, musical immersion.
Practicing is nothing new to Brady who started in the fifth-grade orchestra program at St. Johns Public Schools and has been playing ever since. Recent honors include being third chair this year in the All State Band, playing at the Wharton Center as part of the Spartan Youth Wind Symphony and successful performances at the state Solo & Ensemble Festival.
His commitment to music will reach a new level during the 2014-15 school year. The son of Chris and Trisha Cramer has been selected to enroll as a full-time student at the Interlochen Arts Academy.
"I'm really looking forward to that," he says.
A return trip to the site of his summer school experience may be in Alex's future, too. His older brother currently attends Notre Dame, and Alex is considering enrolling there after graduating from SJHS next year.
"That's a possibility, along with Michigan State, John Hopkins, Northwestern and Loyola University in Chicago," the son of Rene Rosenbaum and Mary Beth Adams-Rosenbaum says, adding that his studies this summer in life sciences may help shape that decision. "In the genetics of disease classes we will study and be involved with experiments in cancer biology and molecular genetics, and do field work at Warren Dunes in Michigan in studying eco-systems in the environmental sciences segment of the camp."
A Top 10 student and SJHS Science Award winner, Alex has completed AP Biology and AP Physics coursework and will take AP Chemistry, AP Calculus and AP English as a senior at SJHS next year.
Both students cite SJHS faculty in helping them complete the detailed application process that resulted in their selection to the elite camps and in guiding them during classroom work: SJPS Band Director Roy Davis, and SJHS science department instructors Derrick Veale and Rick Schultz.
SJPS Superintendent Dedrick Martin says Brady and Alex are good examples of "Redwings to Watch" now and in the future.
"Being accepted into such highly regarded education programs like the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp and Notre Dame University Summer Scholars is an exceptional achievement for Alex and Brady, and demonstrates the positive influence that St. Johns Public School staff has on our students," he says. "We congratulate them and know there are many other Redwings who we will be watching going forward."
For detailed information on SJPS programs and curriculum visit http://www.sjredwings.org/
