2011 GM grad Kuniko Hunter makes RPI dean’s list; Chester Academy grant awarded to GM kids for hydroponic garden

Hunter excels at Rensselaer Polytechnic

Kuniko C. Hunter

Kuniko C. Hunter of Chester has been named to the Dean’s List of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s School of Engineering for the fall 2013 semester. Hunter has earned a place on the dean’s list in each of her five semesters at Rensselaer. She is a (junior by cohort) senior majoring in Biomedical Engineering and Design, Society and  Innovation Studies.

Hunter, a 2011 graduate of Green Mountain Union High School in Chester, is president of the Rensselaer chapter of the Society of Biomedical Engineers, and is active in the Society of Women Engineers and Engineers without Borders.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, located in Troy, N.Y., was founded in 1824 and is the nation’s oldest technological research university.

GM OIL students win grant for garden facility

The Trustees of Chester Academy announce that this year’s Chester Academy Grant of $2,500 is being awarded to a team of students in the Opportunities in Learning Program at GMUHS, for the construction of a hydroponic garden facility. That grant will be matched by a $2,500 donation from Southern Vermont Hydroponics, owned by Casey Hodge who also contributed advice and expertise.

The student-led project will provide the school lunch program with healthy, student-grown sustainable produce, and will provide participants with hands-on experience in management and with a developing agricultural technology.

Student leaders include Andrew Plumb, Matt Mosher, Drew Lambert, Mike Cormier and Tanner Sterns.  Participating faculty members include John Donarum and Jennifer Parks.

Chester Academy, founded in 1814 as the area’s premier college preparatory school, is entering its 200^th year. Over the last three decades, the academy’s trustees have administered the John Butler Scholarship, which has generated more than $750,000 to assist local students with college expenses. This is the third year of the Academy Grant. Previous recipients have launched the very successful Green Mountain School Store, and have organized the Visiting Author Series that has run over the last year.

For information on how to contribute to the next century of the work of Chester Academy, please write to: Trustees of Chester Academy, P.O. Box 512, Chester, VT 05143.