Classical Academy High Grad Recognized for Achievements in STEM

Kenna Chase of Fallbrook was one of 100 students nationwide to receive the Amazon Future Engineer scholarship. This $40,000 scholarship also guarantees Kenna a paid internship at Amazon after her freshman year.

Amazon’s Future Engineer program is for students who have already shown an aptitude for computer science through their high school coursework and are looking to continue their education by attaining a bachelor’s degree in computer science, software engineering, computer engineering or other computer science related field of study.

Kenna just recently graduated from Classical Academy, where was the school’s 2021 class salutatorian, and is eager to continue her path towards a career in engineering. At Classical, she was able to study computer science and was a member of the robotics team. For her work in robotics coding and her encouragement of other girls to participate in STEM, she was also presented the National Center for Women & Information Technology Rising Star Award for Aspirations in Computing.

"Engineers get to work to solve problems that haven’t been solved before. I want to be an engineer who works to make the world a better place, collaborating with a diverse team of people to develop solutions to problems," Kenna said. "I am passionate about engineering, especially its creative problem-solving process. I want to use hardware and software together to solve modern and future challenges for the betterment of society."

This summer, Kenna will participate in the NCS Cyber Talent Development (CTD) group and attend the Cyber Foundations Academy through the National Cyber Scholarship Competition. She also plans to attend Google's 2021 Computer Science Summer Institute.

Kenna plans to dually major in Mechatronics Engineering/ Computer Science at CSU Channel Islands.