Theresa Lucarini has seen many valedictorians come through her calculus class at Beacon High School. One thing that set Oscar McKible apart, she says, was how he coached others.
When her class was working on a tough problem, she says, some students would “just give him a look,” and Oscar would respond.
“They know he’s willing to help,” says Lucarini, known to students as Ms. Luc. “He lets the students try to do the work the best they can, but if they get stuck, he’s almost Socratic in his approach. He’s gained this skill already as an educator.”
Oscar McKible
While he seems low-key, Oscar says he has a strong competitive drive. “I wanted to be the best,” he says. “I decided to go all in.” He took the SAT five times, boosting his score from 1,480 to 1,590 (of 1,600).
In the fall, Oscar plans to attend Boston University to study health science. He became interested in infectious diseases during the pandemic. “I heard about researchers doing important work, trying to stop Covid,” he says. “This is a big, real-world issue using science and math, which is exactly what I want.”
He took the science research class at BHS for three years running, focusing first on Covid and then bird flu. This past year, he researched Chagas disease, which impacts 8 million people annually, mostly in Latin America. It’s spread by “kissing bugs.” He chose it because it’s undertreated and spreading north due to global warming. Rather than work as physician, Oscar says he wants to “try and treat the issues on a societal scale, focusing on prevention.”
Oscar founded the high school’s SAT prep club, tutored elementary and middle schoolers and played clarinet in the pep band, jazz band and pit orchestra.
Samantha Ryan-Ferry, the band teacher, says he rehearsed for performances without enrolling in band because it conflicted with calculus. “He’s so dedicated,” she says. She helped Oscar record Weber’s Concertino for Clarinet (1811) and Jeanjean’s Arabesques (1926) to submit with his college applications.
Oscar chose the clarinet in the fifth grade at Sargent Elementary School. “I liked how many buttons it had,” he says.
Have you seen these stories?
Investigation Continues into Beacon Assault
Type: News
News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.