IMSA celebrates 25th anniversary in Aurora
There was a time when the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy didn’t hold a reputation for providing innovative education for young scientific minds.
A time when students at the residential academy in Aurora didn’t know where they would sleep or if their classrooms would have desks, books or computers.
That time was 25 years ago, when IMSA opened its doors to a class of 210 students and 12 faculty members, Founding President Stephanie Pace Marshall said Wednesday during a 25th birthday celebration at the school.
English teacher Michael Hancock was there in 1986 as a student attracted by the opportunity to study with like-minded teens — not yet as an educator.
“We did not know what the future would hold for us,” Hancock said. “There was a lot of risk, but I think there was also a spirit of adventure that helped us cope with it.”
The school wasn’t accredited or recognized, and it didn’t have a defined curriculum, Marshall said. But its original teachers were committed to focusing on science, math, engineering and technology, and that focus continues today.
“We stand on the shoulders of IMSA pioneers,” Marshall said. “They remind us of the legacy we inherited and they also remind us of the privilege we have to keep it going.”
About 200 students, faculty, alumni and Aurora leaders celebrated 25 years of science and math education by reflecting on the school’s past and accomplishments of its students, then breaking into events such as hitting a dodecahedron (12-sided) piñata, or eating cupcakes that originally were arranged to spell “IMSA 25.”
The school gives its students greater opportunities to participate in scientific research than typical high schools, said student council President Aadi Tolappa of Naperville.
Through a program called Student Inquiry and Research, students can travel to prestigious nearby laboratories such as Fermilab and research facilities at Northwestern University and the University of Chicago to study topics involving antibiotic resistances and treatment of infections, said Aadi, a senior at the academy.
Speaking at the ceremony, Aadi said he was honored to be student council president as the school reaches the quarter-century milestone.
“Hundreds of advances to the human condition later, we have to understand that the 25th birthday of IMSA represents something special,” he said.
Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner unveiled a sign that will be placed along Randall Road near the school at 1500 Sullivan Road. The sign has an arrow pointing toward the school and says IMSA is “Celebrating 25 years of excellence in 2011.”
“We’re very proud that IMSA is located here in Aurora,” Weisner said. “It’s a great learning experience in many ways to be here in Aurora and to be at IMSA.”