The East Baton Rouge Parish School System has eight candidates for this year’s United States Presidential Scholars Program, All but one, who is a student at McKinley High School, attend Baton Rouge Magnet High School. A total of 49 candidates were announced for the entire state with 13 being from the Baton Rouge area.
The district’s student candidates are:
• Kalle W. Liimatta, Baton Rouge Magnet High School
• Garrick L. Mayweather, McKinley High School
• Jasmine L. Miller, Baton Rouge Magnet High School
• Steven A. Olsen, Baton Rouge Magnet High School
• Inderbir Singh, Baton Rouge Magnet High School
• Ipsita Subudhi, Baton Rouge Magnet High School
• Hyungie Sung, Baton Rouge Magnet High School
• David Zhang, Baton Rouge Magnet High School
The students were selected for their exceptional performance on either the College Board SAT or the ACT Assessment exams. Further consideration is based on students’ essays, self-assessments, description of activities, school recommendations and school transcripts.
Inclusion in the Presidential Scholars Program is one of the highest honors bestowed upon graduating high school seniors. Scholars are selected on the basis of superior academic and artistic achievements, leadership qualities, strong character and involvement in the community and school activities. The Commission on Presidential Scholars will make the final decision on who eventually will be named a Presidential Scholar – one male and one female student from each state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and areas abroad where students reside; 15 students at-large; and up to 20 students from the creative and performing arts.
The U.S. Department of Education will announce the 500 national semi-finalists next. The up to 141 finalists (also known as Scholars) representing high schools from across the United States will be invited to Washington, D.C., in early summer to receive the Presidential Scholars medallion at a recognition ceremony. For more information about the program, call (319) 341-2777 or log on to http://www2.ed.gov/programs/psp/index.html or http://www.presidentialscholars.org/scholars.asp.
