Turlock student competes in national race to meet Bill Nye and win $20,000
A Turlock student is in the running to win a $20,000 scholarship and meet Bill Nye, The Science Guy.
Maranda de Sa Campos, a freshman at Connecting Waters Charter School in Waterford, is competing to be America’s Favorite Student.
The winner of the nationwide competition will also have a chance to share their educational journey for Reader’s Digest and travel to Pasadena to tour The Planetary Society with Nye.
As of Thursday, de Sa Campos, 14, is first in her group. Afterward, there will be a wildcard round between her and the person behind her to determine who moves forward.
Then there are the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. The final voting ends May 21.
“It feels like really just awesome,” de Sa Campos said about her current lead.
She and her mom, Shannon Andrews, found out about the competition after seeing Nye’s post about it on social media. As a fan of Nye, de Sa Campos thought it would be a cool opportunity.
“She is the most curious kid I have ever met,” Andrews said. “She really is just like a student of life, and she is always wanting to learn, whether it’s at school or just day-to-day life.”
A love of learning
De Sa Campos keeps busy. She has been dancing with Central West Ballet in Modesto since she was 2 and has been part of the Opera Modesto Children’s Chorus for three years. She balances everything by getting as much done on the weekends as possible to prepare for the chaotic week ahead.
“Classical arts have always kind of been interesting to me, because it’s something that’s been around for a really long time, so it’s kind of like a sight into the past,” de Sa Campos said.
She likes to learn languages on the app Duolingo. So far, she’s studied Italian, French and German and has started learning the alphabet for Russian, Ukrainian and Japanese.
De Sa Campos also has been taking classes at Modesto Junior College since eighth grade. Her favorite class was astronomy, which she earned an A in and looked forward to each day. She also took an Italian class.
The teen said she’s interested in a wide range of subjects but is particularly drawn to astrophysics.
If she wins the competition, the $20,000 will go toward pursuing her college education. She aspires to earn her associate’s degree while in high school and eventually earn a doctorate. She is eyeing Stanford, Oxford and UC Berkeley.
“It would offer a lot of bragging rights,” de Sa Campos added jokingly.
The public decides who advances, with voting for the current round open until 7 p.m. Thursday. The first vote is free, while additional votes cost $1 each. Voting for de Sa Campos is at tinyurl.com/marandadesacampos.
