Abigail Wucherer was born just outside Chicago, but spent most of her younger years in Belmont, North Carolina. When Abigail and her family were considering high schools, she toured Salem Academy and immediately fell in love. Today, she is a fifth-year senior at North Carolina State University.

“As much as I say the cookie break sold me on Salem Academy, it was really the community of students and faculty members and the prospect of a new challenge through a rigorous academic environment that absolutely convinced me that I wanted to go to Salem,” Abigail said.

“The traditions at Salem have truly become lifelong memories. From purple or gold decision day to chapel talks, smoosh cake, senior faculty breakfast (where we ate ice cream for breakfast), ring banquet, and senior vespers, these events are all unique, weird, and fun memories that have been a gift. Go Gold!”

Abigail is a strong supporter of Salem Academy’s STEAM focus and its importance in preparing students for college and careers.

“As a soon-to-be mechanical engineer, I am absolutely biased when I say that I believe a STEAM focus is important,” she said.

“Moreso, I believe the STEAM focus rooted in feminine strength and community has been foundational to my success in a male-dominated engineering program. As I come across challenges, I find myself reflecting on my time on the robotics team or in the physics and calculus classrooms to remind myself of my resilience,” she added.

“Engineering school has been easy because of Salem Academy. Salem taught me work ethic and problem-solving skills that have helped me puzzle through various challenges at North Carolina State University,” Abigail said.

“I had the privilege of interning at NASA headquarters hosted by Jennifer Groman in Washington D.C. during my junior year Jan Term, and it was such an incredible experience! While only a weeklong internship, that experience taught me how to ask more (and better) questions, stay curious, reach out to experts, and stay warm in the coldest place I had ever lived at that point.”

Abigail said she would encourage students considering Salem Academy to reflect on what they hope to gain from their high school experience. If the answer is a challenging, unconventional, growth opportunity that will more than prepare them for college, then she firmly believes Salem is the right choice and will exceed their hopes.

“I have never met more committed teachers than the ones at Salem. Many of the faculty members will do anything to help students learn,” Abigal said.

“Because I wanted to take a few Salem College classes (a great perk that paid off in counting towards my college degree), my BC Calculus teacher offered to accommodate my challenging schedule by teaching BC Calculus over breakfast! Few places besides Salem will you find a teacher doing a hands-on calculus activity with angel food cake at 7:15 a.m. in a dining hall.”

Like other Salem Academy alumnae, Abigal has her favorite campus memories, including winning second place in the pie eating contest for Pi Day. Her other favorites memories include:

• Running around Old Salem in a baby saber tiger costume as the school mascot.
• Receiving her Salem senior ring (which was a surprise from her parents and grandmother).
• Traveling to Texas for the world robotics competition.
• Laughing to point of tears during late nights in the dorm rooms.

Next up, Abigal hopes to pursue graduate education related to furthering the transition to clean energy through battery technology.

“I hope one day to run a battery R&D lab. I’ll be interning this spring and summer with Sandia National Labs as I finish up my mechanical engineering degree at North Carolina State and graduate in May.”