Writing Prompt #5: Pioneers

Prompt:  Write a story about the 1980 summer reading assignment, "The Pioneers".  Alternatively, write a story about what being a "pioneer" means to you, or how you acted as a "pioneering" student during your stay.

Deadline:  May 26, 2025

Details:   In speeches and in news stories, the students in the first class of the school were often described as "pioneers".  In the admissions process, students were sought who could make tangible (pioneering) contributions to the growth of the school.  Write a story describing how you felt about being a pioneer member of the first class.  Did you do anything during your two years in school to live up to the moniker that you were given?

Background:

In 1980, NCSSM faculty suggested that students get a head start on their school reading by reading two books over the summer;  "The Pioneers", by James Fenimore Cooper, and The Americans: The Colonial Experience, by Daniel J. Boorstin.

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The following questions were included in the 1980 student's application for admission for the incoming class:

If selected for enrollment, what do you believe that the NC School of Science and Mathematics will do for you?

If accepted for enrollment, what contributions do you believe you can make to the N C School of Science and Mathematics?

[Directors report to the Board of Trustees - March 1980]

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In 2006, one of the school's founding faculty, Dr. Ginger Wilson was interviewed for a story on the 25th anniversary of the school, for NCSSM Magazine.  Here is a portion of what she said:

We used to call them 'pioneers,' and they really were because they were coming on a promise of what this [school] might be and what it might become...

Most of them were at the top of their class and in a lot of activities, and they were leaving all that for something that wasn't... 

It was just kind of out there. And you had to go on the word of people that were here and on the promise of what we said we would do.  

[NCSSM Magazine 2006, page 23; The Abiders; by Lauren E. Everhart]

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The NCSSM Partnership pamphlet published in the early 1980s, in its solicitation for philanthropic donations refers to the school as a "pioneering" institution (underlined below, for emphasis):.

Through a unique partnership comprising the nation’s top scientists, mathematicians, educators, and business leaders, the school was established in 1980 as North Carolina’s pioneering effort to boost the quality of education for high caliber students and to catalyze improvement in science and mathematics education across the state.

From the beginning, a wide range of national and local corporations, foundations and prominent private citizens have joined some of the nations top scientists and educators in launching and guiding North Carolina’s pioneering educational experiment. Through their efforts the School has surpassed all original expectations, becoming not only a training ground for tomorrow’s scientific and industrial leaders but a national leader in curriculum reform and model for other states considering the establishment of residential schools.

…We invite you to consider joining this partnership. By making a contribution to support the School’s pioneering work, you directly influence the education of tomorrow’s scientific and industrial leaders, and make an investment in the future of North Carolina and the nation.

[NCSSM Partnership Pamphlet; NCSSM Digital Collections] 

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A current search of "Pioneers 1980 NCSSM" on Google generates the following AI Overview Summary: 

 "The term "pioneers" in relation to 1980 and NCSSM refers to NCSSM being the nation's first public, residential high school specializing in science, technology, engineering, and math. In 1980, the Durham campus of NCSSM opened as such, establishing it as a pioneering institution in STEM education. This model has influenced other schools and programs across the globe, with NCSSM becoming a model for 18 similar schools" 

[AI Overview summary for Google search of  "pioneers 1980 NCSSM".]

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Definition of "Pioneer":

pi·o·neer  (pī′ə-nîr')

n.
1. One who ventures into unknown or unclaimed territory to settle.
2. One who opens up new areas of thought, research, or development: a pioneer in aviation.
3. A soldier who performs construction and demolition work in the field to facilitate troop movements.
4. A species that is typically among the first to become established in a bare, open, or disturbed area.

adj.
1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of early settlers: the pioneer spirit.
2. Leading the way; trailblazing: a pioneer treatment for cancer.

v. pi·o·neered, pi·o·neer·ing, pi·o·neers
v.tr.
1.

a. To venture into (an area) or prepare (a way): rockets that pioneered outer space.

b. To settle (a region).

2. To initiate or participate in the development of: surgeons who pioneered organ transplants.

v.intr.
To act as a pioneer: pioneered in development of the laser.

[French pionnier, from Old French peonier, foot soldier, from peon, from Medieval Latin pedō, pedōn-, from Late Latin, one who has broad feet, from Latin pēs, ped-, foot;]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.