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Parker Savage, a Madill resident, is a junior at OSSM. Courtesy photo
Living in town with a population of about 3,700, Parker Savage has big city dreams. A resident of Madill, Okla., and a junior at the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics (OSSM), Parker has a career goal to be a software engineer for one of the big technology companies in California. With a competitive market for these jobs, he is well positioned to accomplish his dream.
Like many others, Parker heard about OSSM from an alumna who also happened to be his seventh-grade math teacher. She encouraged him to consider the school because of the match between his advanced capabilities and the fact that the school offers a wide variety of collegelevel courses in STEM. After spending a day on campus as a high school sophomore, he knew the place was for him and now credits OSSM for instilling a sense of accomplishment and advancing his critical thinking skills.
“OSSM has changed me so much. I feel like a completely different person than when I started,” said Parker. “The heavy course load has shown me I can really accomplish anything, no matter how hard it seems. I’ve met so many people from all kinds of backgrounds, which has helped expose me to different cultures.”
While a primary focus is on STEM-related courses, OSSM also features a strong humanities curriculum, including foreign language, a variety of history courses, and fine and performing arts.
He continued, “Although OSSM is a STEM school, it also heavily focuses on humanities, which has given me critical thinking skills and helped me become a more well-rounded student. I think OSSM is much more like college than high school.”
After graduation, Parker intends to double major in Mathematics and Computer Science, all of which will lead him to working for a company like Apple, Facebook or Google. His goal is to attend Harvey Mudd College in California.
In his spare time, he likes to hang out with friends and family, play volleyball, swim, watch and create TikToks, and volunteer.