UA Student Named to the All-USA College Academic Team
Grace Hsieh
Senior Grace Hsieh was one of only 60 students nationwide named to the prestigous team by USA Today.
Grace Hsieh, a senior at The University of Arizona, has been named to the second team in USA Today's 2008 All-USA College Academic Team program.
There were hundreds of nominees from universities across the country, and the judges selected only 20 students each for the first, second and third teams. The students will receive a $2,500 cash award in recognition of their outstanding intellectual achievement and leadership.
"USA Today is pleased to be able to honor academic excellence and community service throughout the country," said USA Today editor Ken Paulson.
Hsieh has made exceptional contributions at the UA and in the Tucson community. She is a triple major in biochemistry, East Asian studies and molecular and cellular biology, and maintains a 4.0 grade point average despite the extensive time she invests in volunteer efforts.
In 2006, Hsieh established the UA's chapter of InnoWorks, an innovative science and engineering program that aims to remedy the national shortfall of students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics and keep the United States at the forefront of science and engineering innovation.
The program is designed by volunteer college undergraduates for middle-school students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The passion to help create a better future for others stems from Hsieh's work with children who have been victims of child abuse. Hsieh and her brothers volunteer at the Pima County courts, providing babysitting for parents who must undergo parental counseling and therapy as part of their sentencing.
Through her volunteer work at the courts, Hsieh saw the opportunity to get children interested in science.
After approaching professors to determine if there was anything she and other students could do to stir interest in the sciences and help the greater community, she found that no such student-run program existed on campus.
An Internet search led Hsieh to the Innoworks Web site and in only a matter of months she was able to establish the UA charter, raise $20,000, recruit fellow student volunteers, create a free summer camp for middle school students and recruit participants.
UA Professor Jim Hazzard of the biochemistry and molecular biophysics department said, "The most amazing thing about the UA InnoWorks program is that Grace has done it all herself. She found the program, implemented it, gained financial support, recruited other UA students to volunteer and then worked with the middle schools to recruit students for the camp. She is aptly named 'Amazing Grace.'"
"Through my brothers' influence and my close relationships with the children we worked with, it was apparent that the children had very few opportunities through their schools and community," Hsieh said. "By establishing an InnoWorks chapter at the UA, we knew we would be able to provide both an effective and fun means of encouraging local middle school students' interests in science and engineering."
The UA's program was the fourth InnoWorks chapter in the country.
Hsieh also was instrumental in the development of the Outreach for Advancement of Science and Innovation in School program, known as OASIS. The nonprofit organization was founded by her brother David, and is an attempt to address the student shortfall in science, technology, engineering and mathematics in public school classrooms.
"Rather than the traditional technique of introducing erudite terminology to students during the beginning of class, we emphasize an inquiry-based approach to facilitate learning and synthesis of new ideas in our students," Hseih said. "OASIS also represents a very collaborative effort between college students, University faculty, middle school students and public school science teachers.”
The All-USA College Academic Team was selected by a panel of judges from almost 500 students nominated by colleges and universities across the United States. Judges considered grades, leadership, activities and, most importantly, how students extend their intellectual talents beyond the classroom.
Criteria for the team were developed in consultation with the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, the American Council on Education and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.