Senior Davis Walker achieved many accomplishments in his time at Morgan. He worked hard to advance in academics. He challenged himself in school and out of school. Davis was the only Junior to take AP Calculus last year. He said he did this by “taking Pre Calc in the summer.” He said, “I took an online class through Silicon Valley High School.” He took Mr. Milicent’s midterm and final during STEP. He shared that he went in one day to do the midterm and the next to do the final.
Davis said, “I decided to take calc as a junior, so I could get ahead in math.” He explained that Calculus was challenging and all new to him, but he was able to thrive. This year, Davis took a college class through the community college Gateway. He took Calculus II to further advance on his math career and have more classes under his belt.
Besides academics, Davis has many other interests. He is a competitive swimmer who is a part of the Yale Bulldogs team. He said, “I started swimming when I was eleven in sixth grade in 2017.” Davis practices every evening and every Tuesday and Thursday morning from 5:00–6:15 AM at Yale University in New Haven. He started swimming for Yale during the fall of 2018 because his sister was a competitive swimmer and switched to that team, so he did too. Throughout the college application process, he applied to swim at his chosen colleges.
Davis has a passion for engineering. He was part of a first robotics team in Guilford called Team 2667 Apple Pi Robotics. He said, “I started the summer before freshman year.” In this program, he said, “I learned how to use CAD and Solid Works, learned about 3D printing, learned shop work and how to use the bandsaw, and made part of the robots and coded them on CAD.” He was able to advance his engineering skills by learning and being able to use all these skills and software.
As a part of his dedication for science, he participated in the Connecticut Science Fair in his sophomore and junior years. He created two different inventions and said, “Sophomore year, I did a project comparing and measuring the sound level inside different car cabinets.” For this, he wanted to see the different sound levels based on the type of car. However, this project did not receive any recognition. He then said, “last year I tried to make a more water efficient turbine to generate electricity, but in the end,I tried it out, and it did not work like I wanted.” Even though it did not work like he wanted it to, Davis still won second place under the category of Renewable Energy Projects. Because he placed second, he received a scholarship to the University of Hartford for engineering. He also received a few medals.
Davis believes he can further his research and create a better working water turbine in the future. He hopes to work on this and do research projects at his future institution, such as MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Science Teacher Abigail Walston helped Davis further his passion for science. She said, “Davis was in ECE physics his junior year. He was the rower in the cardboard boat race, which we won. We combined his science knowledge with his boating experience.” She said Davis was a great student and “did well in class and calculations.” She said he continued to pursue science outside of school by participating in the Connecticut Science Fair.
As well as winning the Uconn ECE Boat Race, he has done other beneficial things for Morgan. Davis held a car show last year as part of a project for AP Government and Politics, and donated the proceeds to the Valley Shore Animal Shelter.
Davis said in the future, “I want to study mechanical engineering.” He plans on working as an engineer, but also being an entrepreneur. He has a lot of business ideas and would like to work on them as a side hustle. He said his ultimate goal is to create a car company, which he has been brainstorming for years. Davis said he will continue to work hard while he works towards all he wants to accomplish in the future.
Linda Kalinosky • Feb 16, 2024 at 9:09 am
Your enthusiasm for learning and solving energy issues is very exciting. It will be interesting to watch your achievements, keep up your good work.
I am a friend of your grandmother Wanda Rogers. Needless to say she is very proud of you.