Jack Morris
Stamps 1693 Scholar
Hometown
Midlothian, VA
(Mathematics & Science High School at Clover Hill)
Major
Applied Math major (Operations Research concentration)
Computer Science minor
Why W&M
Late to the Scholars-Finalist ultimate frisbee game, I ran all the way from the Days Inn (now Richmond Hall) to Old Campus. As I approached the Sunken Garden, I saw the game had already commenced, and I didn’t stop running until I had thrown down my bag, joined the game, and jumped to catch the disc. I looked around for a familiar face to throw to, but not one of them was a Scholar or Finalist! I had joined the wrong game! I apologized profusely, but they only laughed and invited me – a complete stranger and a high school student – to join them.
I did eventually find my way to the right game, but this interaction exemplifies much that I love about William & Mary students. They are welcoming and positive, and they spend their time doing fun things! Beyond frisbee, I spent the Finalist Weekend climbing trees, listening to very loud metal music (way too loud for human ears) in a very small coffeehouse, drinking tea, staying up late playing board games, and having broad, intellectual discussions. Even at the “important” parts of the weekend like the presentation, the interview, or meeting with faculty, I felt welcome. They weren’t trying to stump me – they were trying to get to know me. I walked away from every conversation with an even bigger smile feeling like everyone on this campus really cared about me as an individual.
William & Mary is an exceptional institution by all those traditional standards too, but the community values me for me and will support me in anything I choose to do. Scholar or not, I had found a home, and the college decision was the easiest I have ever made.
W&M Activities
- Mathematical Contest in Modeling
- Team's papers ranked in the top 15% of papers from teams around the world for three years in a row.
- Encouraged underclassmen to form teams, secured funding from the math department, and lead training sessions to help other competing William & Mary students
- Secretariat member for William & Mary High School Model United Nations
- Undersecretary of Technology for Student Assembly
- DJ for WCWM, William & Mary’s student-run radio station
- Intramural sports (soccer, indoor soccer and handball)
- Flat Hat article about Jack
Awards and Honors
- Phi Beta Kappa
- Summer Honors Fellowship
- Two-time winner of the Great Williamsburg Adventure Race
March 2018
I traveled to Panama City to chair the Special Political and Decolonizaton Committee with Harvard's World Model United Nations conference where delegates debated global climate threats to indigenous peoples as well as the disappearance of endangered languages.
Summer 2018
I helped forecast electric load as an intern for TESLA Forecasting. In an additional research project, I explored the use of recurrent neural networks to forecast locational marginal pricing of power on the day-ahead market.
March 2019
I traveled to Madrid to chair the UN Special Summit on Technology with Harvard's World Model United Nations conference where delegates debated global policy on lethal autonomous weapons and artificial intelligence.
Summer 2019
As an Honors Fellow, I designed simulations and used reinforcement learning to demonstrate how ride-hailing fleets of self-driving vehicles can impact urban mobility and the operations of platforms like Uber and Lyft.
