Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 8, 1995 TAG: 9506090015
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-19 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY WALKER SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"I called them up to see what they were looking for," says Johnson, guidance coordinator at Northside High School. "They said, `We are interested in people who are more than just math and science whiz kids. We are interested in people who can do a lot of diverse things.'
"And I said, 'I think you've got one.'"
Dowe, a 17-year-old senior, is a standout by any measure.
On the day of the interview, Dowe was wearing a blue, purple, red and yellow striped shirt, shorts, sandals, a Mickey Mouse watch, and a pendant depicting the continent of Africa. He has a beard and has had a pigtail since third or fourth grade.
But Dowe is unusual for more than his appearance. His talents appear to be equally divided among the artistic, the scientific and the interpersonal.
He played the lead in a Northside production of "Cyrano de Bergerac" and played Earthquake McGoon, "the world's dirtiest wrestler," in a production of "Li'l Abner."
He plays the tuba for the marching band. "I like the tuba because it's like me - big and loud," he said with a laugh.
At the Roanoke Valley Governor's School for Science and Technology, he has taken a difficult curriculum including materials science, laboratory calculus and accelerated biology and chemistry. According to Johnson, he has made straight A's since the sixth grade, with the exception of a B in English 11. He is one of five valedictorians in his class.
Other students don't seem to resent his achievements.
"He's so personable - he's friendly to everybody," Johnson said. "Everyone knows him, everyone likes him. He's a role model to the whole student body on how to treat other people."
Dowe has coped well with the challenge of being a black student in a largely white school, said Johnson.
"It's not so hard as long as you have support from your family, yourself and the community - it doesn't matter much," Dowe said. "Sometimes you hear comments that aren't politically correct. You have to understand it's something they're ignorant of."
Dowe gives much of the credit for his success to his parents. "They always want to do whatever's best for me. They've always been there to back me."
Dowe lives in Bent Creek Apartments with his mother, Mary Katherine Dowe, a phlebotomist at Community Hospital of Roanoke Valley. His father, Michael Dowe Sr., played football for the University of Virginia and now works for USAir in Roanoke.
When Dowe decided to go to MIT, his parents were concerned about the cost ($31,000 a year) and the distance. But when they saw how much he wanted to go, they supported him, Dowe said.
Dowe has helped himself by working as a mail clerk at Community Hospital and in other ways.
"He's got a whole bunch of scholarships and worked very, very hard to get a significant financial aid package from MIT," Johnson said.
Why MIT? "It's a research institution," Dowe said. "I like getting into the hard-core fundamentals of things. But wherever I go, I'm going to have to grow as a human being."
Dowe plans to major in "whatever will get me into med school." He became interested in surgery following a Governor's School mentorship with Dr. Enrique Silberblatt, a Roanoke reconstructive surgeon. "A dream of people is to be able to help others, and that's something I'd like to do," he said.
Although he's thinking of becoming a plastic surgeon, he's open to other possibilities. "Three years from now, I might decide to be an artist or actor. I could just radically change.
"The cliche, 'Leave your mark on the world' - I'm not sure what that means, but later on down the road I'm sure I'll find out."
by CNB