For Potsdam student, The Clarkson School opens a world of opportunity close to home

For students ready to challenge themselves

For most of her life, Jacqueline Grainger could see Clarkson University simply by looking around her hometown.

Raised in Potsdam, Grainger grew up surrounded by people with connections to the university. Her teachers had studied there. Family friends worked there. Her mother once served as an adviser.

But it took watching her older sister walk through Clarkson’s doors for Grainger to begin imagining herself doing the same.

^{Clarkson School Student  Clarkson University | Submitted Jacqueline Grainger} 

Aliena “Ali” Grainger attended The Clarkson School during what would have been her senior year at Potsdam High School and is now attending Princeton University.

Jacqueline was only a freshman at the time, but she remembers listening to her sister’s stories and even joining her for some of her course readings.

“I was just so enthralled,” Grainger said.

Three years later, it was Jacqueline’s turn.

After spending her entire education in the Potsdam Central School District, Grainger chose The Clarkson School for what would traditionally have been her senior year of high school. The selective early college program provides highly motivated students who are ready for college a year early the opportunity to enroll as full-time Clarkson University students, taking university courses and becoming part of the Clarkson campus community while completing their high school education.

For Grainger, it meant stepping into a bigger world without leaving behind the community that had helped shape her.

She was drawn by the academics, but even more by the people she would experience them with.

“A bunch of motivated, talented, hardworking young kids from around the country and the world being brought together before being then again released to make their mark on society — it’s an unrefusable opportunity,” she said.

And her opportunity at Clarkson began before the school year.

Through Clarkson’s Honors Program, Grainger participated in Pre-Frosh, a five-week summer research experience. With an interest in data science, she joined Professor Andreas Wilke’s Evolution and Cognition Lab, helping collect data for research examining how education could help people overcome cognitive biases and improve pattern recognition and judgment.

It was the kind of experience Grainger once watched from a distance. Now, before even beginning what traditionally would have been her senior year of high school, she was contributing to university research herself.

“That experience prepared me well for the discipline, work ethic and creativity of The Clarkson School,” she said. “It also established a place for me at Clarkson with the people I met and the wonderful research assistants I worked with.”

That sense of belonging has continued into the school year.

“The sense of community and care is undeniable,” Grainger said. “There is no shortage of mischief and humor, but one cannot fail to note the respect and inspiration we incite in one another.”

For students who might be wondering whether The Clarkson School is the right next step, Grainger’s advice is simply to give the possibility a chance.

“Come meet with someone, talk to alumni,” she said. “No sweat if it’s not for you, but this is an experience brimming with opportunities that should not be overlooked.”

For years, Clarkson was simply part of the landscape of Grainger’s hometown. The Clarkson School helped her see it differently: as a place where she could challenge herself, find her own community and begin discovering what comes next.

Sometimes, a life-changing opportunity is closer to home than you think.