Zaid Osman, fifth grade student at Boothbay Region Elementary School, has been invited to join the Duke University Talent Identification Program’s (TIP) prestigious 4th–6th Grade Talent Search.

Each year, a select group of students in the United States are identified as academically gifted based on their exceptional grade-level standardized test scores at or above the 95th percentile. Those students are invited to participate in the 4th–6th Grade Talent Search and to take the optional PSAT 8/9, which is designed for eighth and ninth graders. Participants also gain access to academic programs, support services, research and other information all geared towards helping them to use their academic abilities more effectively. 

As a member of Duke TIP, Zaid will be attending a week-long academic program entitled “CRISIS” at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee this summer. CRISIS lets gifted young scholars try out an exciting profession while learning academic, leadership, and teamwork skills. The program tackles a different hypothetical community crisis each year. In 2018, TIP CRISIS students will do their part to prepare for and respond to a major hurricane. 

Students join a “research team” for the duration of the one-week program and focus on approaching the crisis from a specific professional angle. They will examine the disaster from the perspective of engineers, government officials, researchers, marine biologists, the media, and health professionals. Using problem-based learning, students work together to solve the crisis while participating in development activities that help them learn more about who they are and what they want to be. CRISIS combines fun social activities with hands-on academic work to provide a rich and engaging overall experience for program participants.

Zaid is the son of Mohamed and Jennifer Osman of Boothbay Harbor.