Oxford senior Kye McEwen has been accepted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with an $84,820 annual scholarship.
During McEwen’s exit interview prior to graduation, many of the 18-year-old’s teachers echoed a simple word; … “Wow” as they described him as an “exceptional student.”
A valedictorian with a perfect 36 ACT score, McEwen has excelled in academics, athletics and other extracurricular activities.
In the world of robotics, McEwen has been an active participant. A five-time world championship qualifier and seven-time Alabama State Championship qualifier, he has held leadership roles including lead programmer, lead builder and lead driver since sixth grade. His robotics team has won over 30 awards, showcasing his technical prowess and team leadership skills.
Athletics have also been a significant part of McEwen’s high school experience. As the number one singles and doubles tennis player from ninth to 12th grade, he was named county Player of the Year in 2022 and 2024. His athletic achievements earned him recognition as a Bryant Jordan Scholar Athlete of the Year.
McEwen’s academic pursuits have been equally impressive. He excelled in advanced STEM courses, earning top scores in AP Biology, AP Calculus, AP Computer Science and AP Physics. His passion for engineering led him to participate in a groundbreaking research project developing an active aerodynamic system for electric vehicles, a project that received $5,500 in funding from the Oxford City Schools Education Foundation.
McEwen captained the scholars bowl team, competed on the high school writing team and participated in SkillsUSA, winning the Alabama State Championship in 2024. SkillsUSA, a national nonprofit focused on workforce development, helps students prepare for careers in skilled trades, technical fields and leadership through hands-on training, competitions and industry collaboration.
He plans to study aerospace engineering at MIT, with a dream of contributing to space exploration and potentially becoming an astronaut.
Though MIT is where McEwen has set his sights, he was also accepted at five other universities — Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Auburn, Purdue and Georgia Tech.
“MIT is world renowned for engineering,” McEwen said. “It’s considered, if not, the best, one of the best engineering schools, specifically for engineering research and development, and I think that’s really the future of where we’re going as a society.”
“There’s definitely a need for engineers coming out of college. But there seems to me to be a split right now happening in the universities. Engineers don’t have many jobs right now,” he added. “It’s mostly people who are pushing career tech, technical fields, which I think is really good, but I’d rather be on the other side of the equation, people who build the things that need to be made, people who do the research and push the next level of boundaries.”
McEwen credited his parents for cultivating his work ethic and ambition. He noted that both of his older siblings hold doctorate degrees, and he plans to pursue a doctoral degree in engineering research. He said both his mother and father’s mindset contributed to his drive to succeed.
His teachers and mentors praise not just his intellectual capabilities, but his humility, confidence and ability to make challenging tasks seem enjoyable.
“Through the roof you have grown,” said McEwen’s 10th-grade English teacher Cade Somers told him. “You’ve grown your sense of humor and smile, your confidence in your speaking, and just overall, you have charm. That is really cool to go along with all your other talents. You know that that’s something that’s not executed really well.”
Oxford High School Assistant Principal Landon Thompson also addressed McEwen. “Just the wealth of things that you’ve been involved in and doing well in each of those really speaks for you and who you are. So definitely looking forward to hearing how far this goes for you.”
McEwen said one reason he strives to accomplish so much is attributed to his religious beliefs, and he believes that God wants his children to leave the world a better place.
“We want to do more than the people before us. We want to leave something better behind. And for me, at least, that’s looking and going to new places,” McEwen said.
