Mitch Porter Commits To Johns Hopkins

Mitch Porter, Sidney High School class of 2018, has committed to attend Johns Hopkins University as a member of the Class of 2022.

His anticipated area of study is in Molecular Biology and Spanish, and plans on competing for Johns Hopkins University as a member of the track team. Mitch has been a standout on the Sidney Red Raiders varsity basketball team and the varsity track team, but plans on focusing solely on track while at Johns Hopkins.

"I think I have the best opportunity in track," Porter explained. "There's only so much time for sports, and track is my favorite. Plus, I really liked the track team because they're a really close and supportive group," he said.

Mitch was contacted by Johns Hopkins track coach Bobby Van Allen earlier this year, and he invited Mitch and his family to visit the university during the summer. The Porters also visited Tufts, Harvard, Princeton, and other Ivy-League and top tier schools during their visit to the east coast. Mitch travelled back to Johns Hopkins by himself in September for an official visit, and knew that the Baltimore-based school would be the right fit for him.

Located in Baltimore, Maryland, Johns Hopkins University is the premier private medical and research university in the United States. It was founded in 1876 and named for its first benefactor, the American philanthropist Johns Hopkins.

Johns Hopkins University is considered to be the first research university in the United States, and has had 36 Nobel-prize winning affiliates since the prize was first awarded in 1901.

"I visited Harvard and some of the other Ivy-League schools, but I liked Johns Hopkins better", said Porter. He added, "The other schools were older and focused on tradition, while Johns Hopkins had a newer feel to it, with more modern facilities. You felt they (Johns Hopkins) were more interested in the future while the other schools were more focused on the past."

When asked about his concerns moving from a small town to a large city, he replied. "I'm excited about moving to Baltimore. The school itself only has about seven thousand undergraduates and the campus is its own small community, but if you need to go to downtown Baltimore it's right there."

Mitch has always been an outstanding student and athlete. He is a standout in both basketball and track, but his academic achievements are what make him truly special. He currently carries a 4.0 GPA and scored 34 out of 36 on the ACT College Admissions test. Never one to settle, he decided to take the test a second time and took an ACT preparation course in hopes to get an even higher score. "They told me I would get the course fee ($400) back if I didn't get a higher score the second time", Mitch said.

So, was he able to score even higher the second time around?

"Well, I got my 400 dollars back," he laughed.

Not settling for "good enough" has been part of Mitch's character from a very young age. Mitch's mother Carol Porter recalled, "He was always a phenomenal student. He would get upset if he got an answer wrong. He always put a lot of pressure on himself, and he was never happy with a "B"."

It also helped that Mitch has sisters that were also great students, and growing up he was determined to match their grades and academic achievements. When asked if that kind of competition between siblings caused problems, Carol Porter replied, "Not really. In fact, it was great that I never had to ask him, "Did you do your homework?" or "Are you studying for your test?" because he was extremely self-motivated from an early age."

The Porters are quick to acknowledge the efforts of the Sidney Public School community in Mitch's achievements. Carol Porter said, "When we first announced that Mitch was going to attend Johns Hopkins, we got congratulatory messages from former teachers as far back as pre-school. Throughout the years Mitch's teachers have been such an important part of his success."

Mitch Porter added, "There are a few teachers that really helped during the process, like Mr. Avila and Mr. Shaw writing a recommendation letter for me, and Mrs. Lewis and her husband helping me with the college applications. I'm grateful for all of their help."

Mitch's acceptance to Johns Hopkins is the culmination of the efforts of an entire community; from his family that motivated and supported him, to the educators that took the time to nurture his love of learning, and his coaches that instilled the values of hard work and preparation that enabled Mitch to compete and achieve at his highest possible potential. Mitch plans on studying Molecular Biology and Spanish during his undergraduate years. His ultimate goal is to become a surgeon or a doctor. When asked why he had such an interest in molecular biology he said, "I took a Biology class a few years back and was fascinated with cellular structures and how so many small things can combine and create something much larger then from where it started."

"I really liked it," he added.

A strong mind, hard work, and the efforts of many people in the community have combined together and created something truly special – a young man on the verge of pursuing his dreams at one of the best universities the United States has to offer.