When Jason Lin’s mother told him he had received a package from Amazon one recent afternoon, he didn’t know what it could be.

While the senior at Panther Valley High School will often shop online for things like fountain pens and single-origin coffee, he hadn’t recalled making any recent orders from Amazon.

But when he opened the suitcase-sized box, he found it actually held an offer for a $40,000 college scholarship and internship at the online retail giant.

“I opened it, (and) it was a big poster that said ‘$40,000.’ It was a big shock. I quickly called my mom and told her about it,” he said.

The Amazon Future Engineer program is available to high school seniors who have studied computer science and plan to pursue it as a major in college. When Lin applied for the scholarship, he didn’t think he had the qualifications to be selected for the award.

Finding his future

Lin took his first computer science course as a sophomore at Panther Valley. He enjoyed the course, but he didn’t know at the time that it could potentially be his career. The next year, he scored a perfect 5 on the Advanced Placement Computer Science exam. The field quickly turned from a curiosity into a possible career.

“I thought, ‘computer science sounds cool’. I didn’t know what it was,” he said. “Then I said ‘I’m pretty OK at this, I might as well take AP computer science.”

Last fall, thanks to an agreement between Panther Valley and Lehigh Carbon Community College, Lin took a college-level course which affirmed that he wanted to study computer science after high school.

He also took advantage of the massive amount of computer science learning materials available for free online.

People in the field often share their work on the web, encouraging others to collaborate and build on it. Lin said that is what has allowed him to learn while still living at home.

“They really value collaboration and sharing. I think that was really helpful. There are so many free resources that would not be available in other academic subjects,” he said.

Like sister, like brother

As a child of first-generation immigrants, Lin didn’t know much about applying and paying for college. But he has a strong supporter in his older sister Jenny.

She graduated from Panther Valley in 2017 and is a recent graduate of Lehigh University.

Jason got to visit his sister in college, and talk to her friends about their majors. When it came time for him to apply, she advised him on what to look for in a college, and how to find and apply for scholarships and financial aid.

“She’s given me a window into the college experience. I’ve been on campus several times and talked to her friends about their majors. It’s been a very good resource,” he said.

One of the scholarships they discussed was the Amazon Future Engineer program. The program provides students with $10,000 per year toward their college education, and a paid internship after their freshman year.

Jason didn’t think that he could possibly prevail over students from areas where computer science is given greater emphasis in school.

So when he opened the package containing his acceptance letter, and a bunch of Amazon Future Engineer merchandise, it came as a complete surprise.

From A to Z with Amazon

The scholarship will provide him with $10,000 per year for four years as he pursues his undergraduate degree. That goes a long way for any college student.

Lin has chosen to attend Northeastern University in Boston, where tuition is over $70,000 per year. He plans to pursue a combined degree in computer science and business administration.

During a recent visit to Boston with his sister, Lin was taken by campus life and the city. They enjoyed seafood, and Jason got to try a coffee roaster which used a unique process.

“At first I was really hesitant, it’s an urban campus in the middle of Boston. I’ve lived here my entire life, so there’s nothing resembling the city,” he said. “It blew my expectations out of the water.”

Lin said he chose Northeastern because of its academics, and location in a major tech city, where he will have access to internships and co-op programs. That advantage led him to choose it over Lehigh, where he was also accepted.

He already knows what his internship plans are for the summer of 2022. He will travel to Seattle for a paid internship. From some preliminary research, he’s learned that the internship will be with Amazon Web Services.

Ironically, his sister had suggested he apply for an Amazon internship in college, but he thought there was no way he would qualify.

“I said ‘what are you on about? There’s no way that’s going to happen, I have no experience.’ And here I am with an internship in high school,” he said.