Charles Curnin Named 2018 U.S. Presidential Scholar

Earlier this month, Rye Country Day School senior Charles Curnin was named a member of the 54th class of U.S. Presidential Scholars by the Department of Education. He was among 161 high school seniors nationwide recognized for their accomplishments in academics, the arts, and career and technical education fields.

The White House Commission on Presidential Scholars selects scholars annually based on their academic success, artistic excellence, essays, school evaluations, and transcripts, as well as evidence of community service, leadership, and demonstrated commitment to high ideals.

During his time in the Upper School, he has excelled in the classroom while taking six honors courses, nine Advanced Placement courses, and five post-AP courses. Having stretched the bounds of the school’s curriculum in Math, Physics, and Latin, Charlie pursued independent study in Quantum Mechanics, a guided study in Advanced Topics in Latin Language and Literature, and a course in Multivariable Calculus with Stanford University online.

Outside of the classroom, Charlie holds leadership roles in a number of school clubs and organizations, most notably the Classics Club, of which he is the president and founder, and the school newspaper, Crop, where he has served as editor-in-chief for the past two years. He is also tutors other students on campus through the peer tutoring program, and through SiSTEM, a tutoring option specifically for students who need help in science and math.

Last summer, Charlie, who has been a student at Rye Country Day since fourth grade, took a job with Ashley Laboratory at Stanford University working with big data, specifically in the field of bio-informatics. He is currently is completing a senior project that extends his work with the Ashley Lab. “Most of my work is in identifying and analyzing hard-to-detect genetic anomalies that often go unnoticed,” explained Charlie. “My main project currently relates to applying AI to study the super rare mutations that cause super rare disease.”

Last year, while working at the New York Genome Center, Charlie developed a website, which was then published by Oxford University Press, on which people can see for themselves what their DNA means for their health. In April, Charlie presented his work at the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics Meeting. He will matriculate at Stanford this fall.

“We are extremely proud of Charlie’s outstanding academic accomplishments, his leadership and service, and his exciting work with the Ashley Laboratory at Stanford,” said Rye Country Day Headmaster Scott Nelson.