Myles Noel was born to two immigrants from the islands of Trinidad and Tobago. Being a first generation child, he was taught at an early age the value of scholarship and his education and the importance they have to success in this country. From a young age, it was ingrained into his mind to pursue his education to the highest degree possible, and that has been his goal ever since.
Myles attends Norview High School in Norfolk Virginia where he is a part of the Leadership Center for Science and Engineering (LCSE) program. Myles has been actively involved in school by participating in clubs ranging from Varsity Tennis, Scholastic Bowl, African American History Bowl, Model Judiciary, Model UN, NJROTC, and Chamber Orchestra.
Myles grew up fascinated with history, especially African American History. At his elementary school, an entire section in the library was dedicated to famous figures of African American History. This section was where he found his inspiration through figures such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Mae Jamison, and Barack Obama. This interest stuck with him into high school, where he is the captain of the school’s African American History Bowl team. While being a part of this club, Myles noticed that African American History Is a very under taught and overlooked history at his school. Therefore, Myles decided to use the club as a platform to inform the rest of the school of this history. Through the recruitment of a diverse group of individuals, he and his team were able to enlighten his school’s student body of this history. Furthermore, the success of the team as five time state champions helped instill change within the school and school district,where African American Seminar are being introduced as a class in the school’s offerings.
Myles’ true passion has been with science. Ever since he was a kid, Myles has been interested in how the universe works. This interest came from a collection of books his mother gave him about the natural sciences, books that he still holds to this day. From these experiences, Myles decided that he wanted to go to space. Sophomore year, he was a part of Virginia Space Coast Scholars, a program that took place at Wallops Flight Facility where he and a group of students planned a mock mission for NASA. Junior year, he did a similar program called Virginia Aerospace Science and Technology Scholars at Langley Research Center.
Using these experiences, Myles hopes to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to study chemistry to its terminal degree. He aspires to become a Research Chemist and eventually a Mission Specialist for NASA. Myles hopes to serve as an example to other people of color by becoming a leader in the field of STEM. However, Myles ultimately hopes to carry on his parents dreams, to make them proud and make the sacrifices they made coming to this country worthwhile.
