At age 7, Zane Dustin of Hebron was taking things apart, putting them back together and asking questions like, “How fast does someone run?” and “How long does it take for the light to go on when you flip the switch?”

His goal in second grade was to be a scientist and an inventor.

In short, he said, he has always been a geek.

He grew up watching “Myth Busters” and anything on the Discovery Channel.

And last week he was named a Merit Scholar semifinalist.

In middle school he “had some really good teachers in eighth grade and they presented new challenges and opened my horizons,” he recalled.

He joined the math team and did a “substantial project” for the school science fair on a Tesla coil – a form of induction coil for producing high-frequency alternating currents – that shoots a long spark.

“You’ve seen them at the Boston Museum [of Science],” he said.

Those teachers, he said, were Steven Shaw for math and Rosalie Schwaner for science.

Ranked second in his class at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School in Paris, he began his education at Hebron Station School.

“Hebron is one of the smaller schools in the district and we have pretty fair representation in the top percentage of (Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School),” he pointed out, noting Hannah Hartnett, ranked first in the Class of 2017, is also from Hebron Station School.

At the high school, he cited two teachers who have made a difference in his chosen field of focus: chemistry teacher Luc Roy and math teacher Alan Gerry.

However, he is quick to add, “I could make a long list of all teachers I could give thanks to for what they have done for me.”

The 17-year-old said he has always been good at school, and enjoys learning and pushing himself. He is taking classes ahead of his year, especially in maths and sciences. He also credits his parents – Kimlee and Randy Dustin – for supporting and encouraging his pursuit of knowledge.

“They allowed me to build multiple dangerous devices in the garage,” he said with a laugh.

“I didn’t get in trouble for shorting out the garage and they didn’t tell me, ‘Hey, step back there,’ when I got bitten one day.”

Getting bitten, he explained, is akin to being zapped by high voltage. “It’s not dangerous but very painful.”

“In fact,” he added, “they were fascinated by stuff I was doing. I wouldn’t have been able to do any of it without their go-ahead.”

After high school, his goal is to go to college for a degree in aerospace engineering with “astrophysics somewhere in the mix.”

His top four schools are MIT, Stanford, University of Michigan and University of Colorado-Boulder.

He mentioned Space Exploration Technologies Corp., an aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company, as a possible employer.

“They do private spacefaring. They provide transport to the International Space Station and are planning on sending people to Mars.”

Does he want to go?

“No! I don’t want to go up … knowing the stats for safety I’m good here,” he said.

His other pursuits are playing violin and guitar and he recently joined a chamber choir.

He has been a cross-country and track athlete and Nordic skier all through high school. He earned his Eagle Scout rank a few years ago by creating “Welcome to Hebron” signs.

“It is really cool I got this,” he said. And if he wins a scholarship, “the money will be very much appreciated.”

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National Merit Scholarship 

The National Merit Scholar program is in its 62nd year.

This year, about 1.6 million high school juniors took the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test. From those, about 16,000 semifinalists are chosen. Of those, 15,000 are expected to advance as finalists and will be notified in February.

They will compete for one of three types of scholarships: 2,500 National Merit scholarships of $2,500; 1,000 corporate-sponsored Merit scholarships; 4,000 college-sponsored Merit scholarships.

The finalists will be announced in April.