Glasscock participates in LeadAmerica

Bennett Glasscock, a senior at St. Bernard Prep, took a 10-day break from swim training this past summer to take part in LeadAmerica, a youth leadership program at Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering in Boston, Massachusetts.  As part of LeadAmerica, Glasscock was the only student in attendance from Alabama.

LeadAmerica, one of the nation’s educational leaders in personalized experiential learning, offers outstanding, high-achieving high school and middle school students the opportunity to gain valuable knowledge and the experience of real college life while they explore their future career path and discover what inspires them most.

Nominated by his teacher, Mr. Randy Hasenbein, Glasscock was happy to take advantage of the opportunity, which offered him a chance to see how his college dream can turn into a career.  LeadAmerica consisted of lectures and hands-on projects that included everything from building robots to websites.  While students enjoyed the classroom projects, they were also introduced to dorm life as Glasscock roomed with five other young men from the United States.

With a bit of a mischievous grin, Glasscock said it was fun getting to know new people.  “It’s funny to mix with others and see how much they remind you of friends and relatives at home,” Glasscock said.  

Glasscock’s interest in engineering comes from his late grandfather, Larry Glasscock.   

“Since my grandfather’s passing a couple of years ago, we have been going through his things, and I enjoy finding his creations and seeing what makes them work,” Glasscock said.

LeadAmerica provided the opportunity to explore an engineering career path.  The ten days consisted of lectures on different kinds of engineering, and then the groups divided into workshops to build robots, circuit boards and even websites.

“One of my groups built an obstacle course out of binders and a robot to go through the obstacle course.  Each group got a motor and it was up to them to figure how to make the gears move it,” continued Glasscock.

LeadAmerica partners and collaborates with some of the top colleges and universities throughout the United States to offer college immersion programs designed to better prepare these students academically and emotionally for the transition to college life and beyond. 

According to Glasscock, the MIT visits and lectures from the professors was a great experience.   Glasscock quickly learned Physics is the recommended basis for engineering.

Glasscock leads St. Bernard’s swim team and hopes to find a good engineering school that provides an opportunity for swimming as well.

Bennett is the son of Carson and Wendy Glasscock of Cullman.