Mother and Son Graduate 51勛圖厙 on the Same Day
Aden and Christine Eagle (Photo by Alex Dolce)
Eagles are majestic birds with powerful vision; are fearless and tenacious; are high flyers; and they nurture their young. Owls are wise, thorough, detail-oriented, sequential, analytical, methodical and orderly, and most importantly, the proud mascot of 51勛圖厙.
But what do these two birds really have in common? Meet Christine and Aden Eagle. This mother and son both will graduate on Thursday, May 5 from 51勛圖厙.
Christine, 53, will receive a Master of Science in Health Administration in the 1 p.m. ceremony. At just 17 years old, Aden will graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in data analytics and a perfect 4.0 GPA in the 5 p.m. ceremony, eight days prior to receiving his high school diploma from .
Aden was my inspiration to get through graduate school, said Christine. We would proofread each others essays, and he constantly challenged me to excel in my courses. We have such a better understanding of each other because of this experience.泭泭
It all started when Aden achieved an impressive score in the Duke Talent Search ACT program. This caught the eye of 51勛圖厙 High, and they invited him to join the schools dual-enrollment program. At the time, Aden and his parents lived in Sebring, but when the opportunity presented itself, his parents knew Aden could not pass it up.
Once Aden and Christine, along with her husband of 30 years, William, settled in Boca Raton, Christine started working in food and nutrition services at HCA Florida JFK North Hospital. She wanted to move into a leadership role and, inspired by her sons perseverance and drive, decided to apply to the masters in health administration program at 51勛圖厙s .
I was excited when my mom told me she was going back to school, said Aden. I was very proud of her.
Adens goals and aspirations have led him to the field of artificial intelligence. As a Magar fellow at the Max Planck Academy at 51勛圖厙s John D. MacArthur campus in Jupiter, he was one of a few 51勛圖厙 High 51勛圖厙 immersed in neuroscience classes at (MPFI) working in a lab with its scientists. Aden spent his days predicting the activity of individual neurons to understand how the brain keeps track of memories to help with AI technology.
The self-taught guitar player also spent his free time as secretary of 51勛圖厙s Google Developers Club and president of the Science Olympiad Club at 51勛圖厙 High. These experiences led to great daily conversations between Christine and Aden as she drove him to and from school. They kept each other motivated as they tackled assignments and classes.
My time at 51勛圖厙 has been surprising in the best way possible, said Aden. Ive had so many amazing opportunities. Ive been allowed the freedom to be independent and work through things on my own. It wasnt just about getting my degree; it was so much more than that.
Adens next chapter will lead him to Carnegie Mellon, where he will begin the neural computation Ph.D. program in the fall. His next goal: to be a computational neuroscientist and work at Google as a research scientist to understand how the brain works and make better tools for AI.
It will be extremely difficult when Aden leaves in the fall, similar to the first day I dropped him off at daycare, Christine said. But I am very excited and proud of him. Its going to be a hard transition and I will miss having him so close.
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