Florida Tech Announces 2019 Farmer Scholar
Madison Rooth to Study Astronomy and Astrophysics
MELBOURNE, FLA. — Florida Institute of Technology has named Madison Marie Rooth the Farmer Scholar as the 2019 recipient of the university’s most prestigious financial award.
The Odessa, Florida, resident graduated this year from the private Academy of the Holy Names in nearby Tampa, where she earned a 4.40 weighted grade point average and scored 33 out of 36 on her ACT. She began at Florida Tech on Aug. 19.
Excelling and engaged no matter the subject, Rooth was a member of the National Honor Society, the Science National Honor Society, the Spanish National Honor Society, the national mathematics honor society Mu Alpha Theta, the National English Honor Society and Rho Kapa, the national social studies honor society.
Beyond the classroom, Rooth was a project manager on her school’s FIRST Robotics team, vice president of the SWAT STEM Club and an intern at Chromalloy Castings in Tampa.
“Her mission work and dedication to robotics have broadened Madison’s perspective about the world,” Micky Stagg, who chairs the World Languages Department at Holy Names and taught Rooth for two years in Spanish class, said in a letter of recommendation. “She sees herself as a global citizen.”
Rooth said she is excited to experience all that a Florida Tech education offers.
“I am most excited about the opportunities Florida Tech harbors for undergraduate involvement. I believe engagement with the material is a critical aspect of learning, and Florida Tech not only provides the pathways to success but encourages students to define their own route to mastery through different approaches,” she said.
“Also, I am very excited to meet so many new people with a genuine passion for learning,” Rooth added. “A variety of perspectives enriches the overall experience, and I cannot wait to be a part of this community.”
The Farmer Scholars program began in 2009, when Phillip W. Farmer, the retired chairman, president and chief executive officer of Harris Corp. and past chairman of the Florida Tech Board of Trustees, donated $1.5 million to establish the endowed scholarship.
The program provides a full, four-year scholarship awarded annually to a Florida resident and high school graduate who is among the top 5 percent of his or her class and demonstrates exceptional academic achievement and outstanding personal character.
Included in the scholarship are all tuition and university fees, a room in Harris Village’s Farmer Hall and the regular university meal plan. Additionally, the Farmer Scholar is given a stipend between the junior and senior years for enrichment through Florida Tech’s summer study abroad program at Oxford University.
The opportunity to explore multiple facets of learning will be a good fit for Rooth, said Lauren Oetinger, the Holy Names teacher who had Rooth in her Advanced Placement Language and Composition course.
“Madison is one of the few students I’ve had that embraces both her love of the humanities and STEM,” Oetinger said in her letter of recommendation. “This marriage of identities makes Madison more well-rounded than many of her counterparts.”
Florida Tech President Dwayne McCay said Rooth and Florida Tech are an ideal fit.
“We are happy to have Madison’s enthusiasm and curiosity on campus, and I look forward to seeing her growth as a scholar and global citizen,” he said.
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