PA Distance 11th-grader Rook Fait has been excelling in class, developing his career plans, and keeping busy with extracurricular activities over the last few years. Now a junior, he is preparing to apply to colleges to further his computer science-focused career aspirations.
This summer, Rook worked as a guest page, sponsored by Representative George Dunbar (District 56), for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. During his experience as a guest page, Rook spent a session working with the 203 members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
Before working as a page, Rook joined some of his classmates at the Pennsylvania Capitol in March to speak with local legislators, including Representative Dunbar (shown with Rook in the photo to the right),
about the virtual education experience at PA Distance. During his visit, Rook connected with Rep. Dunbar about opportunities to get involved. Together, they coordinated a day for him to work as a guest page this summer.
“I worked as a page for the right side of the House floor and was responsible for delivering copies, drinks, and anything else that legislators requested,” Rook explained. “It was interesting to work on the House floor to see how things work and listen to debate on both sides of the aisle.”
Although Rook isn’t pursuing politics in the future, he still gained valuable experience during his day as a guest page while representing his district and school.
“I learned about how the systems of the House of Representatives work in more detail,” he added. “I would do it again because it taught me so much.”
Rook is motivated to become a computer scientist after he graduates. Since 7th grade, he has taken several computer science elective courses at PA Distance, including Technology, Computer Science I, and Game Design. This year he is enrolled in Computer Science II, AP Computer Science Principles, and a Web Technologies independent studies course.
“If a student is interested in a particular career path, we offer independent studies courses to our high school students,” Rook’s school counselor for three years, Mrs. Buncic, explained. “Since Rook is set on becoming a computer scientist, we enrolled him in the web technologies course. When he came to PA Distance in 7th grade, he immediately jumped into a computer coding course.”
“I love the teachers at PA Distance,” Rook said. "They are always able to have one-on-one time with me.”
“I’ve worked with him for a long time and watched him grow. He’s a great student. I’m proud of him,” Mrs. Buncic added. “He’s going to do great things.”
With several years of knowledge from taking PA Distance computer science courses, Rook has since gained some real-world experience as a game developer for Roblox. As an independent contributor, he writes scripts (using the programming language called Lua) so people can play the games.
“Once I publish the game to Roblox, people can play it,” Rook explained. “I’ve contributed to 20-25 million play sessions. It’s not the most that a developer has ever done, but I’ve been able to work on a variety of games.”
“My favorite part about game design is coming up with new systems for users to interact with when playing a game,” he said. “I’m working on some new ideas that haven’t been introduced to the market yet. I’m ready to blow people out of the water with it.”
After finishing his junior year, Rook plans to apply to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston, MA, to pursue his computer science career goals. Throughout this school year, his current counselor, Ms. Harvey, will help him work toward this goal.
“I am extremely fortunate to have a student like Rook in my first year as a high school counselor,” Ms. Harvey said. “With all of his accomplishments and experiences, any school would be lucky to have him. I am very excited to help him achieve his goals and see where the future takes him.”