This article is from page 14 of the 2012-08-28 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 14 JPG
AN EAST Clare man has won a prestigious scholarship to the worldrenowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) — including a $40,000 (€ 32,000) presidential prize to cover his tuition while he is there.
James Long, who comes from Parteen, is celebrating this week following the news that he has won a scholarship to MIT in Boston, where he will do a masters in Civil Engineering.
MIT is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.
Just four years after completing his Leaving Cert, James has made the leap to MIT, which is regarded as the best university in the world for engineering.
James completed a four-year degree in Civil Engineering at the University of Limerick earlier this year and will study for a Masters in the same subject in MIT.
Despite this, he does admit that Civil Engineering was not always his chosen career part.
“I wouldn’t say I always wanted to do civil engineering, but I always liked maths and science,” he said. “I liked the sound of the UL course because there is a lot of project work, and when I was coming out of the Leaving Cert it was very appealing – you don’t want to be stuck in books all the time.”
As he entered his final year at UL, James decided to explore opportunities for Masters courses in both the US and UK and filled in countless applications.
“I was looking for a new adventure, I wanted to do something different,” said James, who admits to having been “very surprised” when MIT came back to him. Soon after receiving the news that he had been accepted to study at MIT, he received a second unexpected boost with the news that he has been granted the Presidential Scholarship which will cover his tuition fees and living expenses.
As he heads off Stateside, James’s only regret is that he is going to miss his graduation from the University of Limerick.