SJB student solves crime at national scholars program
Jerico Horca was hot on the case of the missing mascot a few
weeks ago. The young man with the tan complexion, spiky black hair
and quiet demeanor had analyzed fingerprints, looked over
handwriting samples and reviewed hair analysis to find out who had
stolen the mascot.
SJB student solves crime at national scholars program
Jerico Horca was hot on the case of the missing mascot a few weeks ago. The young man with the tan complexion, spiky black hair and quiet demeanor had analyzed fingerprints, looked over handwriting samples and reviewed hair analysis to find out who had stolen the mascot.
But Horca isn’t your average detective. This pint-sized crime solver is starting fourth grade in a few weeks and solved his case as part of the National Young Scholars Progam this summer at R.L. Stevenson School in Pebble Beach.
“It was new to us,” said his father, Emmanuel, when the family first received the invitation. “We didn’t understand. The teacher had hinted she had nominated him, but we didn’t know what it was.”
The San Juan Bautista family had not heard of the National Young Scholars Program before Horca received his nomination from a teacher at Prunedale Christian Academy, which he attends with his older sister Adrienne, an eighth-grader, and where his younger sister, Gabby, is starting kindergarten this year.
To attend NYSP, students must be nominated by a teacher and be in third, fourth or fifth grade. The requirements for the program are high academic achievement. Once students are nominated, they can choose several subjects for their six-day program. Students can also choose where they attend the program. The 2007 session took place in nine locations throughout the summer. The tuition for the program is around $1,800, though it varies by location.
Horca, who said his favorite subjects at school are recess and P.E., selected to do the Crime Solvers program, in which the students used forensic analysis to find a missing mascot.
Other programs touch on literature, construction, medicine and theater, though Horca’s parents allowed him to choose his topic.
“We have kind of been doing that all along,” Emmanuel said. “We tested him for musical ability, but he wanted to do karate. We left the choice up to him.”
Horca has since switched from karate to violin lessons and his favorite song to play is “Long, Long Ago,” though he doesn’t know who composed it.
During the program, Horca stayed in a dorm with two other boys. He made nightly calls to his parents and they received e-mail updates from the program.
“It was like college,” Horca said. “We did fingerprints, fiber analysis and footprints.”
The students also participated in a leadership program during the stay.
His favorite part of the day was returning to his room at the end of the night to relax, Horca said.
As an alum of the program, Horca will be eligible to attend the NYSP next year and told his parents he would like to attend the program in Washington, D.C. He would like to take the Crime Solvers 2 session if he returns.
“He will have to save up some more cans for that,” his father said.
The program encourages the students to come up with some of the money for their tuition and for the summer program, Horca asked relatives and family friends for donations.
The hardest part for Emmanuel and his wife Cecilia was letting their fourth-grader go away for the week.
“He was actually gone six days,” Emmanuel said. “It was definitely very challenging.”
While their oldest, Adrienne, had been away at science camp a few years before as a sixth-grader, she had friends and people she knew with her.
“They [the program directors] helped us get through the whole process,” Emmanuel said.
An educational psychologist talked to the families about homesickness and what emotions they could expect while their child was gone.
Gabby and Adrienne both said they missed their brother while he was gone.
“Actually I thought it was cool at first [that he was gone],” Adrienne said. “But then after a while, you get bored.”
For Emmanuel, Horca’s chance to participate in the program is an opportunity he never had as a child. He immigrated to Guam from the Philippines at age 4 and then to the United States at age 11. Emmanuel grew up on the East side of San Jose; he and his wife have worked to give their children opportunities they didn’t have.
“I want them to be competitive – do the best now so when they are out there, they have the best opportunities,” Emmanuel said.
For more information on the National Young Scholars Program, visit www.nationalyoungscholars.org or call 800-781-7185.
Teachers interested in finding more information on nominating students for the 2008 summer program may call 866-298-2826.
