Chickasaw Student Accepted to MIT

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By Chickasaw Nation Media

February 03, 2025

WENATCHEE, Wash. – A dream of attending the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) turned into reality for Chickasaw citizen James Eric Byrd.

It is one of several honors Byrd has received in recent weeks as he worked toward high school graduation, traveled to Stockholm, Sweden, for festivities involving the formal awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize and prepared for the rigors of the MIT curriculum he will face this autumn.

“I have wanted to attend MIT since I was in kindergarten,” he said. “It is one of the most important universities in the world, and I am honored it accepted me.”

MIT is so exclusive only 4% of students who apply for admission are accepted.

Founded in 1861 as a private land grant university, the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based school is respected worldwide for its exceptional educational opportunities and student success. More than 100 MIT affiliates have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Hundreds of other students have been honored for their work in modern technology and science additionally.

It is one of only three private land grant universities in America. The other two are Cornell and Tuskegee.

Byrd will study physics hoping to pursue research in the area of quantum information science.

“It involves quantum computing, and that is where I hope to excel,” he said. Byrd’s explanation about the mechanics and mathematics of this discipline makes one’s head spin.

It is complicated, intricate, exacting and interesting. Understanding it is not easy, but Byrd said this area of physics is prone to errors, and correcting those errors is critical so that data is consistently reliable.

“Finding the error, sorting it out and writing computer code to correct the error in real time is the goal,” he explained. “My goal is to reduce those mistakes mathematically. You have to figure out a unique way of coding.

“Math is very logical, and there is always an answer to problems using math. In addition to that, math is really cool,” he posited.

Byrd will graduate June 20 with both a high school diploma and an associate degree in science from Wenatchee Valley College (WVC). While MIT will not accept all the hours earned at WVC, Byrd said the college was pivotal in preparing him for MIT.

“WVC has a very rigorous course structure, and the professors are amazing at teaching all levels of students. Being exposed to a college environment will help me when I attend MIT. At MIT, there will be a lot of math and science classes in my major. It will be difficult, but I have always been curious and love to learn. I am excited about the future,” he added.

In order to be accepted, Byrd authored several essays for admission, and one of those essays sought an explanation about what Byrd does “to have fun.” The essay illustrates MIT’s dedication to supporting students both academically and personally, he said.

“I love to play piano. I have taken formal piano lessons on and off since I was young. In the last five years, I have consistently grown, and my teacher, Mrs. Lisa Sauer, has helped me to develop as a National Guild-level pianist. I recently earned a black belt in karate from 11 years of training at the Wenatchee School of Karate. I like to draw, and I have been involved in theater since I was 8 years old,” he said.

In his Washington community, the entire school system is involved in the biennial Wenatchee School District all-district musical. Elementary to middle school to high school students participate. In his first theatrical debut, at the age of 6, Byrd played baby “Shrek” in “Shrek the Musical,” and he has continued to love acting in the community.

In November 2024, Byrd had a major role in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” His role was Grandpa Joe. The lead role of Willie Wonka was performed by another Chickasaw citizen, Kade Devereaux. Besides acting in this production, Byrd performed two mostly solo musical numbers, “Charlie, You and I,” and “I Got a Golden Ticket.”

“Those productions are so much fun,” he said. “We gave eight performances of ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.’ Of all of the musicals I have been involved in – four total – this one was my favorite. The outpouring of support by the community was outstanding.”

As if he was not already busy, the National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS) selected Byrd to take part in the weeklong Nobel Laureate celebration in Sweden during December 2024.

“We toured the Nobel Museum, attended lectures by Nobel laureates, explored Stockholm and were invited to visit the U.S. Embassy,” he said.

Byrd said the most interesting part of the trip was “Nobel Dialogue” which featured internationally renowned experts who explored health as the principal topic. “Mental health and the economics of health were addressed as well as the public perception of what health is and how it is delivered,” he said. “It was quite interesting, and I thoroughly enjoyed the presentations.”

Byrd met Dr. David Baker, a computational biologist from the University of Washington, who was awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work in computational protein design. According to Byrd, Baker succeeded in building entirely new kinds of proteins. He shares the prize with Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper (of DeepMind). They used an artificial intelligence model to solve a 50-year-old problem: predicting proteins’ complex structures.

After the Nobel laureate lectures, Byrd spent late nights in Europe studying for two final exams he had to take the day after he returned from overseas. “I was pretty exhausted,” he said with a laugh. However, he reports he did well on the exams despite jet lag.

For the remainder of his high school career, he plans on studying, playing piano and taking some time for himself while planning the move to Massachusetts.

This summer, Byrd will continue activities with Children of the American Revolution, an organization of which he is a member and will tour important historical sites. His brother, Luke, participates in the same organization and spent time touring sites before attending Harvard a year ago.

Both brothers’ universities are in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and James said he and his brother will be only two train stops away from each other. So he will be close to family when starting classes at MIT.

Their parents, J. Chad and Carrie Byrd, have watched both children move from Washington state to Massachusetts to attend college. While the distance is not ideal, both brothers have praised their parents for encouraging them and supporting the decision to move across America to pursue their dreams.

“They are very supportive, and we both love them,” James said. He also explained many of his classmates plan to attend universities far from Wenatchee to receive specialized education in specific fields of endeavor. He is certain after earning his bachelor’s degree at MIT that graduate work and doctoral dissertation will continue.

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