As a Georgia Chief Science Officer (CSO), Anthony Mitchell Jr. aims to elevate the student voice and ignite new opportunities in STEM and innovation.
“The responsibilities of being a CSO are to learn through other students, teachers and STEM professionals, then take what you’ve learned back into your school and classroom and advocate for your peers by teaching them,” Anthony explained.
This past summer, the South Atlanta High School 10th grader was one of three scholars (and the only APS student) chosen to represent Georgia at the International CSO Summit in Washington, D.C.
The summit brought CSOs from several states and countries to work together as an international cabinet and to impact national leaders. CSOs also had the opportunity to visit national sites and meet national leaders. Anthony’s favorite part of the trip was visiting the Defense Intelligence Agency. `
“Visiting the Defense Intelligence Agency was my favorite because it was a very exclusive and rare place to attend,” Anthony said. “Meeting all these amazing people who worked together to protect this country, invent, and innovate made me very interested. I would consider working there one day. The trip really changed what I saw myself doing in the future.”
Anthony’s dream school is Georgia Tech, where he hopes to foster a career in natural science, engineering or zoology. In the meantime, the South Atlanta Hornet is making strides to achieve his goals. He is a member of the CSO Georgia Leadership Council, South Atlanta High School STEM Council, football team (No. 9), and is ranked in the top 10 percent of his class.
ABOUT CSO:
Georgia Chief Science Officers (CSO) is a STEM leadership development program for middle and high school students across the state, enhancing students’ leadership, communication, and advocacy skills. Students are elected to become their school’s CSOs and are empowered to lead STEM/STEAM initiatives at their schools and in their communities. CSOs meet with legislators, school board members, and policymakers to lend their voices to conversations about STEM education and workforce development in our state. CSOs build relationships with STEM industry mentors and connect with companies and careers in their region.
The program is part of the International CSO consortium, launched in 2015 in Arizona. Georgia CSOs are joining more than 800 other CSOs in Arizona, Oregon, Michigan, New York, Delaware, Florida, Mexico, Kuwait, Kenya, and Colombia.
We Are APS highlights APS visionaries (parents, students, teachers, principals, support staff, community members, partners, etc.), who exemplify our vision of a high-performing school district where students love to learn, educators inspire, families engage, and the community trusts the system. To recommend an APS visionary for a We Are APS feature, contact your communications liaison or email apscommunicationsoffice@gmail.com.
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