Hometown Glory
Move over, Michelle: Houstonian gets seat of honor for State of the Union
If you are tuning in to tonight's State of the Union address (no doubt playing Steve Popp's oh-so-topical drinking game), keep an eye out for Li Boynton, a Bellaire High School senior who will be in the gallery sitting next to none other than First Lady Michelle Obama.
InstantNewsWestU.com reports that Boynton, 18, has already won the prestigious Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, is a semi-finalist for the Intel Science Talent Search Award for her research paper, titled "The Use of Bioluminescent Bacteria to Detect Environmental Contaminants," and has been accepted to Yale University. (Though she's also applied to Harvard, and according to the Chronicle, wants to get the First Lady's opinion on which Ivy League school to choose. The first lady graduated from Harvard Law School in 1988.)
As one of a handful of special guests for the speech selected by the Obamas, Boynton could be getting a nationally televised shout-out for her groundbreaking work and dedication.