Robert Winikates is a proud member of the class of 2004 at the Boston Latin
School. He lives in West Roxbury with his parents and sister, a BLS alumna
and a Ward Fellow in the summer of 1999. He entered the Latin School as a
seventh grader, and he has enjoyed his years there.

At Boston Latin School, Rob keeps himself busy in a variety of activities.
Rob is the Senior Class Committee Chairman, and looks forward to applying
his experience from the Ward Fellowship to assist the senior class
officers. In 2003, he was the Student Coordinator for the school?s Seevak
Website Competition, thereby continuing his involvement from 2002, when his
team won 2nd place in that competition. His dedication to music is
reflected in his level of participation in many different performance
groups including: saxophone section leader in the Senior Concert Band;
co-president of Pep Band; and soloist in the award-winning Jazz Band. Rob
pursues his interest in computer science through his part-time job as a web
developer. Outside of school, Rob is a youth leader in his Boy Scout troop
after eleven years of commitment to the program. He has earned the rank of
Eagle Scout, and he enjoys combining his enthusiasm for community service
with his passion for hiking, camping!
, water sports, and photography through this program. However, despite
all of these endeavors, this Latin school student remains focused on
academics as his number one priority. Next year Rob will have four AP
classes to soak up all the extra time that he has currently.

Rob is eagerly anticipating his senior year and is interested in several
schools including Dartmouth, Boston University, Tufts, Harvard, and Brown.
Though Rob has not yet decided on a major, his three main interests are
music, computers, and of course, government. Presently, he is hoping to
combine these into a major that will fulfill his natural curiosity. Since
he is finding his current exposure to city government fascinating, he
expects that political science will be a significant portion of his
undergraduate education.

Rob applied to the Ward Fellowship so that he could bring his own
understanding of government ?to the next level.? Having been a beneficiary
of City of Boston programs (most recently he was sponsored by the city to
attend Berklee College of Music for the summer of 2002), Rob wanted to
experience government from the perspective of those who provide services to
the city?s residents. Rob hopes to bring this new knowledge back to his
home and school communities and thereby make a difference. He further
wishes that during his college years he might pursue a Stanley Miller
Fellowship to participate in and understand how government operates at the
federal level.

Rob feels privileged to work with his energetic sponsor for the summer of
2003: the Honorable Michael P. Ross.