When Suzanne Van Arsdall drags her tired body from bed at 5 a.m. to run several miles before school starts, she pictures the children she met in South Africa.
“And then I have the energy to do it,” says the 17-year-old from Frankfort. “I’m running for a purpose.”
Suzanne is running the Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon April 30 to raise $11,000 for a safe house for women and children in a South African township that claims one of the highest rates of domestic violence, rape and abuse in the world.
“It’s a pretty high goal,” says Suzanne, who currently has $4,000 in pledges. “But that’s how much it costs.”
Suzanne volunteered last summer for the small charity called Philisa Abafazi Bethu (which means “heal our women”) in Lavender Hill, a township on the outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa. The high school senior worked mostly with 100 girls, all survivors of rape and abuse, in the after-school program.
The current safe house is actually a wooden shack in the backyard of Lucinda Evans, the local woman who started Philisa Abafazi in 2008. It holds four people for up to 72 hours. As the only safe house in Lavender Hill, it’s always full, and Lucinda regularly sends victims away.
“I have women sitting in the road on a Monday morning waiting to be seen, and every time it tears my heart in pieces,” Lucinda says in an email from her home in Lavender Hill.
Several Gatton Academy students took top honors at the 2011 Region 2 and Kentucky State Future Busniess Leaders of America (FBLA) Conference, including three state champions.
Each of the seven students who competed were honored as finalists in their respective events at the regional level. Six were honored in the state competition.
Students will advance to the National Leadership Conference later this year.
FBLA-PBL is the largest business career student organization in the world. The high school division has 215,000 members, while the postsecondary division reaches over 11,000 college students. The newest group, FBLA-Middle Level, is showing remarkable growth with nearly 15,000 student members. Finally, the Professional Division has reached over 3,000 members. Over 11,000 advisers round out the group. Exclusive membership and career recognition programs are designed for each division to provide additional personal and chapter development opportunities.
Students honored at Regionals include:
1st Place Business Communications – Sarah Schrader
1st Place Networking Concepts – Daniel Dilger
1st Place Technology Concepts – Joey Tutor
2nd Place Economics – Madeline Buhr
2nd Place Health Care Administration – Tejas Sangoi 2nd Place Impromptu Speaking – Lori Lovell
3rd Place Business Calculations – David Sekora
Students honored at State include:
1st Place Networking Concepts – Daniel Dilger
1st Place Technology Concepts – Joey Tutor 1st Place Impromptu Speaking – Lori Lovell
5th Place Business Calculations – David Sekora
5th Place Business Communications – Sarah Schrader
5th Place Health Care Administration – Tejas Sangoi
Beth Hawke, Coordinator for Residence Life at the Gatton Academy, serves as the chapter’s sponsor. She expressed pride not only in the team’s accomplishments but also their attitude.
“I am incredibly proud of the work that our students have done and the way they represent Gatton Academy,” she said. “Our FBLA students made a strong showing at the Regional Leadership Conference this year, demonstrating yet again that Gatton Academy students are versatile and well-rounded. These students continue to set the bar high for those who will follow in their footsteps.”
Part of the Gatton Academy’s mission is to train students to think entrepreneurially while becoming the Commonwealth’s future leader. Hawke believes those skills contribute their future roles in STEM fields.
“Many of our students have entrepreneurial aspirations as they wish to go into private practice as physicians, market future inventions, or pursue other business opportunities,” Hawke explained. “With the growing opportunities that e-commerce and the internet provide, the sky is the limit for these students. Regardless of the fields that our students eventually choose, the knowledge and skills that they acquire through participation in organizations like FBLA will serve them well in the future.”
For Academy students, this is the the beginning of their professional growth.
“Professionalism is at the core of the mission of FBLA. Participation in FBLA helps students acquire valuable skills that will prepare them for future opportunities,” Hawke said. “From learning what constitutes professional attire to how to communicate in the business world, FBLA provides students with an opportunity to apply what they learn in the classroom to practical business situations.”
The FBLA concept was developed in 1937 by Dr. Hamden L. Forkner of Columbia University. The first high school chapter was chartered in Johnson City, Tennessee on February 3, 1942. In 1958, the first PBL collegiate chapter was chartered in Iowa. The Professional Division, originally the Alumni Division, began in 1979. Joining FBLA-PBL in 1994 was the FBLA-Middle Level for students in grades 5-9.
For more information, contact Corey Alderdice at (270) 745-6565.
Brittany Morgan of Glasgow, a junior in the WKU Honors College, and Sarah Schrader of Bowling Green, a student in the Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky, have been awarded prestigious Goldwater Scholarships. Clarice Esch of Somerset, also a student in the Gatton Academy, received an honorable mention in the highly competitive, national program.
“These awards show the emphasis we place on applied, practical research at the undergraduate level, from the Gatton Academy through our Honors College,” WKU President Gary Ransdell said. “The experience these students gain through research activity and interaction with faculty mentors will serve them well as they continue their academic careers and graduate to make a positive impact on the quality of life in our region.”
This success grows out of the efforts of both individual research mentors and WKU’s Goldwater faculty representative Kevin Williams. Dr. Williams, associate professor of chemistry and former Goldwater Scholarship recipient, took on the role of faculty representative in 2006. Additionally, the Gatton Academy, the Honors College and the Office of Scholar Development work to promote research endeavors and preparation for scholarship competitions.
Sarah Schrader
Sarah Schrader, the daughter of Michelle and Steven Schrader, said the process of applying for and receiving the Goldwater Scholarship has solidified her desire to pursue a career in research. In the lab with Dr. Rodney King, associate professor of biology, she has been discovering a new virus that can only infect bacterial cells and is characterizing it based on its DNA and physical properties.
Schrader plans to pursue a Ph.D. in molecular biology or genetics and to become a research scientist in genetics. She attributes much of her success to the Gatton Academy for the many opportunities that the program offers as well as the Office of Scholar Development for helping to refine her Goldwater Scholarship Application.
“I would also like to thank my research mentor, Dr. King, for the immense amount of support and encouragement he has provided me throughout my time working in his lab,” she said.
Dr. King said he was excited to learn that Sarah had won a Goldwater scholarship. “Sarah is one of the most academically gifted students I have encountered in my career,” he said. “She has an insatiable appetite for learning and a remarkable work ethic. She is self motivated and tremendously disciplined. It’s been a privilege to watch Sarah’s potential for scientific research blossom during her time at WKU. I’m very happy for her, and I’m very pleased that she has received such prestigious national recognition.”
Clarice Esch
Clarice Esch, the daughter of Carol and Joseph Esch, has been researching methods to utilize lichens to reduce the need for nitrogen-based fertilizers. Like Morgan and Schrader, she plans to pursue a Ph.D. after she completes her undergraduate career.
According to Esch, her research has shaped her thinking on her future. “Through this project,” she said, “I discovered a passion for conducting research and intend to continue conducting research throughout the rest of my college career and beyond.”
Esch is grateful for the support of her mentor, Dr. Martin Stone, Leichhardt Professor of Horticulture. Dr. Stone said that Esch is the most promising student that he has worked with in his career as a researcher.
“Her work ethic, attention to detail, and ability to grasp the concepts of our joint research over the past two years have been impressive,” he said. “But beyond her intellectual abilities, she is unassuming and a genuinely nice person to know in both the classroom and in the greenhouse. Students like Clarice come along infrequently in the career of a faculty member and I am fortunate to have worked with her.”
The Goldwater Scholarship Program seeks to recognize excellence in the sciences and to encourage talented students to pursue research careers. Dr. Williams said that being honored by the Goldwater Scholarship Program “is a testimony not only to classroom performance but also to potential and passion for a research career.”
For WKU students, he said, “the Goldwater awards are a validation of their potential as scientists”—potential that Dr. Williams believes others will continue to recognize as these students move toward graduate education and research careers.
The numbers support Dr. Williams’ assessment of the award. Colleges and universities must nominate students for consideration, and the program limits four-year institutions to four nominations each year. In 2011, 275 scholarships were awarded from nearly 1,100 nominees. Scholarship recipients receive $7,500 annually to cover undergraduate tuition, fees, books, or room and board.
About the Office of Scholar Development: The Office of Scholar Development is committed to helping students on all WKU campuses and in all majors and degree programs develop the vision, experience and skills to be independent, engaged scholars. OSD welcomes the opportunity to work with students interested in the Goldwater Scholarship Program or other similar opportunities. Call Audra Jennings at (270) 745-5043 to schedule an appointment with the Office of Scholar Development.
About the Honors College at WKU: WKU is home to the only Honors College in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Created in 2007, the Honors College at WKU provides an intimate, highly selective learning environment where college-age gifted and high-achieving students can develop the skills to prepare them for success in the nation’s top academic and career opportunities. Contact: Drew Mitchell, (270) 745-2081
About the Gatton Academy: The Gatton Academy offers a residential program for bright, highly motivated Kentucky high school students who have demonstrated interest in pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Sixty students each year are admitted to the program through a competitive process. Instead of spending their junior and senior years in traditional high schools, students enroll in the Gatton Academy and live in a uniquely dedicated residence hall. The goals of the Gatton Academy are to enable Kentucky’s exceptional young scientists and mathematicians to learn in an environment which offers advanced educational opportunities and to prepare them for leadership roles in Kentucky. At the end of two years, Gatton Academy students will have earned at least 60 college credit hours in addition to completing high school. Contact: Corey Alderdice, (270) 745-6565
The 41st Annual WKU Student Research Conference was the biggest in the eventʼs history with 135 paper presentations and performances as well as 80 poster presentations and exhibits March 26 at Gary A. Ransdell Hall.
A total of 149 undergraduate students and 66 graduate students were primary authors this year and an additional 112 students were co-authors. The undergraduate participants included 61 Honors College students and 29 students from the Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky.
A total of 124 faculty members served as mentors, and 33 departments from all colleges were represented among the conference participants.
Madalyn Schreiner, a junior from Alvaton, Exposing the Cracks in the Masks, Best Undergraduate Paper in the Humanities, Session 1
Matthew Vaughan, a senior from Wayne, Pa., Fair Trade Education and Awareness at WKU, Best Undergraduate Paper in the Social Sciences, Session 2
Maggie Wilder, a senior from Berea, Prescribed Fire Effects on Summer and Fall Herbs in Eastern Mesic Forests, Best Undergraduate Paper in the Natural Sciences, Session 3
David Evans, a senior from Somerset, Analysis of Vegetation Health and Density within the Makalu Barun National Park, Nepal Using Supervised Classification of Remotely Sensed Data, Best Undergraduate Paper in the Natural Sciences, Session 4
Sarah Schrader, a Gatton Academy student from Bowling Green, Genomic Analysis of TT9, a Novel Mycobacteriophage, Best Undergraduate Paper in the Natural Sciences, Session 5
Daniel Hinson, a senior from Greenbrier, Tenn., Synthesis of Some Group VII Pyridazine Complexes, Best Undergraduate Paper in the Social Sciences, Session 6
Colleen Wynn, a senior from Louisville, Hopelessly Disadvantaged Like You: A Comparative Study of Disadvantaged Youth in Mobile and Medellin, Best Undergraduate Paper in the Social Sciences, Session 7
John Jennings, a senior from Bowling Green, Ortho-Metalation of Para-Bromo and Para-Iodoanisole Utilizing Ortho-Lithiodimethylben-zylamine, Best Undergraduate Paper in the Natural Sciences, Session 8
Kayla Herchenrader, a senior from Louisville, Barren River Sports Center, Best Undergraduate Paper in the Natural Sciences, Session 9
Mark Bailey, a senior from Cold Spring, The Coney Island Mall, Best Undergraduate Paper in the Natural Sciences, Session 10
Amar Patel, a senior from Russellville, Poly(3-hexyl thiophene) and Perylenediimide Functionalized Siloxane and Bridged-Siloxane Nanoparticles, Best Undergraduate Paper in the Natural Sciences, Session 11
Whitney Tyree, a senior from Smiths Grove, A.R.T.E.M.I.S Double Prime, Best Undergraduate Paper in the Natural Sciences, Session 12
Kasey Vaught, a senior from Versailles, The Moral Lapses of Men: Justice Defined byWatchmen, Best Undergraduate Paper in the Humanities, Session 13
Leigh Gaskin, a senior from Bowling Green, Gales Point Cemetery Restoration, Best Undergraduate Paper in the Humanities, Session 14
Undergraduate Posters
Wren Burnett, a senior from Bowling Green, Contemporary Design Collaborations, Best Undergraduate Poster in the Humanities, Session 1
Rachael Baumgardner, a senior from Bonnieville, Art Deco Jewelry, Best Undergraduate Poster in the Humanities, Session 2
Chasen Igleheart, a senior from Central City, Salo, Best Undergraduate Poster in the Humanities, Session 3
Sean Shannon, a senior from Beavercreek, Ohio, Identification of Candidate Basement Membrane Degraders Using Drosophila Genetics, Best Undergraduate Poster in the Natural Sciences, Session 4
Owen Gaulle, a sophomore from Nashville, Tenn., Evaluating the Lyrid Stream from a High Altitude Balloon Experiment, Best Undergraduate Poster in the Natural Sciences, Session 5
Virginia Martin, a senior from Bardstown, Synthesis and Characterization of Analogs of the Anticancer Drug Oxaliplatin, Best Undergraduate Poster in the Natural Sciences, Session 6
Shelby Rader, a Gatton Academy alumna and senior from Irvine, Synthesized Crystalline Materials and Ion Exchange, Best Undergraduate Poster in the Natural Sciences, Session 7
John Wilson, a senior from Hickman, Predictability Time of an Einstein Klein-Gordon Cosmology, Best Undergraduate Poster in the Natural Sciences, Session 8
Kathryn Carpenter, a senior from Owensboro, SKy Teach vs. the Traditional Teacher Education Program: Why Is the Quality of Learning of Educational Psychology Content Different?, Best Undergraduate Poster in the Social Sciences, Session 9
Curtlyn Kramer, a Gatton Academy student from Ashland, The Effect of Sexual Context on Moral Decision Making in Men and Women, Best Undergraduate Poster in the Social Sciences, Session 10
Claci Ayers (Warren ’11) represented Warren County in the America’s Distinguished Young Women (formerly known as Kentucky Junior Miss) in January.
Ayers reached the round of twelve finalists, was the winner of the scholastic award, and received an interview award. In all, she received scholarships totaling $900.
The Distinguished Young Women of Kentucky program awards college scholarships to young women who have distinguished themselves at school and in their communities. Participants in the program develop interview skills, self-confidence, and other life skills that lead to future success.
Distinguished Young Women was founded in 1958 and is headquartered in Mobile, Alabama. More than 700,000 young women from across the nation have participated in Junior Miss programs at the local, state, and national levels. In addition to cash scholarships, Junior Miss participants are eligible for college-granted scholarships from nearly 200 colleges and universities.
For more information, contact Corey Alderdice at (270) 745-6565.
Several Gatton Academy students found success while representing their local high school during district Governor’s Cup tournaments held in January.
The annual series of district, regional, and state competitions test students knowledge is a variety of content areas. Students are selected to take exams in mathematics, science, social students, arts and humanities, and writing. Teams of students also compete in Future Problem Solving and quick recall (academic team) matches.
Kentucky Association for Academic Competition (KAAC), the organization that sponsors the statewide tournament, does not allow the Gatton Academy to field its own team. KAAC bylaws require students to compete for the school that receives Average Daily Attendance (ADA) monies from the state.
While Tim Gott, Director of the Gatton Academy, would love to field a team, he views the current system for competition as another facet of the relationship between the Academy and students’ sending schools.
“This is another great example of our partnership with the sending schools,” Gott said. ” The success of these students on the written assessments is something to celebrate with their home school and Gatton Academy. Together, we are giving these outstanding young people the opportunities to excel and shine.”
Students will compete in regional tournaments around the state later this month. Students placing in the top five at regionals in each event will advance to the state tournament in March.
Gatton Academy Students Placing in 2011 District Tournaments:
David Sekora — 1st Place Mathematics Assessment and 1st Place Science Assessment (District 8)
Christian Jolly — 1st Place Mathematics Assessment and 3rd Place Science Assessment (District 9)
Tejas Sangoi — 3rd Place Mathematics Assessment (District 10)
Jon Warren — 1st Place Mathematics Assessment (District 11)
Sarah Schrader — 1st Place Science Assessment, 2nd Place Composition, and 2nd Place Mathematics Assessment (District 13)
Michael Crocker — 3rd Place Mathematics Assessment (District 13)
Holly Morris — 3rd Place Science Assessment (District 13)
Ellis Shelly — 3rd Place Science Assessment (District 15)
Brandon Farmer — 5th Place Mathematics Assessment (District 38)
Tucker Joyce — 1st Place Mathematics Assessment and 1st Place Science Assessment (District 41)
Laura Claytor — 4th Place Mathematics Assessment (District 45)
Ben Rice — 1st Place Mathematics Assessment and 2nd Place Science Assessment (District 48)
Sarah Schrader (Warren, ’11) earned a top composite score of 36 on a recent ACT test.
Nationally, while the actual number of students earning a composite score of 36 varies from year to year, roughly one-tenth of one percent receive a top score. Among test takers in the high school graduating class of 2010, only 588 of nearly 1.6 million students earned a composite score of 36.
The ACT consists of tests in English, mathematics, reading and science. Each test is scored on a scale of 1-36, and a student’s composite score is the average of the four test scores. Some students also take ACT’s optional Writing Test, but the score for that test is reported separately and is not included within the ACT composite score.
In a letter recognizing this exceptional achievement, ACT CEO Jon Whitmore said, “While test scores are just one of the many criteria that most colleges consider when making admission decisions, your exceptional ACT composite score should prove helpful as you pursue your education and career goals.”
ACT test scores are accepted by all major U.S. colleges, and exceptional scores of 36 provide colleges with evidence of student readiness for the academic rigors that lie ahead.
For more information, contact Corey Alderdice at (270) 745-6565.
The group’s 96th annual meeting broke a record with 775 registered attendees. This year’s meeting focused on Careers in Science — what students need to know to be prepared and how faculty can help with the preparation.
Derick Strode, the Academy’s coordinator for research, internships, and scholarships, explained that Academy students shared their findings alongside other undergraduate students, graduate students, and professionals from across the Commonwealth.
“These students have taken on the additional challenge of research out of their passion for mathematics and science,” Strode noted. “To be honored among the best undergraduate scientists in the state of Kentucky is a true compliment to the level of commitment and hard work that these young students put forth in their research projects.”
Research, Strode explained, is a central component of the Gatton Academy experience. In all, three-out-of-every-four Academy students participate in a sponsored research project. Students are encouraged to share their findings at student and professional conferences.
“By sharing their research work at academic conferences and meetings such as the Kentucky Academy of Sciences, our students have a chance not only to share their findings but they also get to see and learn from other students and professional scientists from around the state,” Strode said. “These meetings give our students a chance to see the larger world of science and mathematics research and make valuable connections in the state’s STEM community.”
The following Gatton Academy students received awards for their paper and poster presentations:
2010 Undergraduate Paper Presentation Competition
Agricultural Sciences: Clarice Esch of Somerset, third
Ecology and Environmental Science: Victoria Gilkison of Lawrenceburg, second;
Geography: David Evans of London, England, first; Lee Campbell of Paducah, second
Mathematics: Anthony Bombik of Louisville, second; Justine Missik of Danville, third
Physics and Astronomy: John M. Wilson (Academy alumnus) of Hickman, third
For more information, contact Derick Strode at (270) 745-6565.
Three hundred of the country’s best student hackers, including the nation’s top young applied cyber security researchers, along with New York City’s network of cyber security professionals, winners of the fabled DEF CON cyber challenges and the keynote speaker from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, will converge on the campus of Polytechnic Institute of New York University for the 7th Annual Cyber Security Awareness Week (CSAW) challenges.
The CSAW competitions are organized by NYU-Poly cyber security students and comprise the most comprehensive set of cyber challenges for students. Finalists compete for prizes and scholarships by solving simulated security crises likely to emerge in an increasingly wired world.
Keynote speaker will be Sean Paul McGurk, director, Control Systems Security Program, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Bryan Hatton of the Idaho National Laboratory Cyber Security Team will open the event as a particularly appropriate speaker: He led the 2020 winning team in the most famous of hacker challenges, the DEF CON Capture the Flag cyber challenge.
“CSAW illustrates the growing recognition of the need to educate highly skilled security professionals as well as the rapid acceleration of knowledge in the cyber security field,” said Nasir Memon, who heads NYU-Poly’s cyber security program. “In only its second year, our high school forensics challenge attracted 110 teams from elite schools in 15 different states. That shows how many schools realize they must start early to infuse students with the math and engineering that they will need to succeed in cyber security in their university studies and professional lives.”
This year’s CSAW Embedded Systems Challenge also demonstrates how dramatically security tools are advancing in response to cyber threats, Memon said. “This
hardware challenge is particularly difficult – as well as particularly important in the real world. During manufacturing, unscrupulous vendors can insert difficult-to-detect trojans that can wreak havoc later,” he said. “Trust-HUB, the source that security professionals use to log news of these dangerous hardware trojans, reports only 22. Two years ago, the highly skilled student finalists in our Embedded Systems Challenge were able to design 50 attacks against hardware. This year, they developed 216 attacks. That is evidence of the vulnerability of real-world hardware, but it also illustrates how topflight schools are helping these students analyze trojans in order to better defend against them in the real world.”
High school finalists for the forensics challenge are:
— Allied Health and Science, Team 0x21, Neptune, New Jersey;
— Biotechnology High School, Team Ramrod, Freehold, New Jersey;
— Bronx High School of Science, Digital Autopsy, Bronx, New York;
— High Technology High School, md5 hash browns, Lincroft, New Jersey;
— Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, Team MK ULTRA, Aurora,
Illinois;
— Poolesville High School, Eric Harrison, Kevin Harrison, and Jack Zhu;
Poolesville, Maryland;
— Poolesville High School, Team Echo, Poolesville, Maryland;
— Red Bank Regional, Confliker, Little Silver, New Jersey;
— Southern Utah Center for Computer, Engineering and Science, David
Morgan, Jeremiah Schopen, Jake Green, Cedar City, Utah;
— Staten Island Technical High School, WhizKidz, Staten Island, New York;
— The Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science, GAMS Cyber Forensics
Team, Bowling Green, Kentucky; and
— Wellesley High School, Pun Intended, Wellesley, Massachusetts.
The CSAW challenges are also sponsored by AccessData, BAE Systems, Center for Advanced Technology in Communications, LGS Innovations and AT&T, which sponsors the AT&T Award for Best Applied Security Research Paper.
NYU-Poly was one of the earliest schools to introduce a cyber security program, receiving National Security Agency (NSA) approval nearly a decade ago. Designated as both a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education and a Center of Academic Excellence in Research by the NSA, the school houses a National Science Foundation-funded Information Systems and Internet Security (ISIS) Laboratory, the nerve center of cyber security research. Under Memon, ISIS students create and run the annual CSAW games.
About Polytechnic Institute of New York University
Polytechnic Institute of New York University (formerly Polytechnic University), an affiliate of New York University, is a comprehensive school of engineering, applied sciences, technology and research, and is rooted in a 156-year tradition of invention, innovation and entrepreneurship: i-squared-e. The institution, founded in 1854, is the nation’s second-oldest private engineering school. In addition to its main campus in New York City at MetroTech Center in downtown Brooklyn, it also offers programs at sites throughout the region and around the globe. Globally, NYU-Poly has programs in Israel, China and is an integral part of NYU’s campus in Abu Dhabi. For more information, visit www.poly.edu.
Nearly 20% of Gatton Academy seniors have been recognized as semifinalists in the 2011 National Merit Scholarship Program, an honor which potentially opens the door college scholarship opportunities. In all, 11 members of the Class of 2011 will go on to the next round of the competition.
Over 1.5 million students in about 22,000 high schools entered the 2011 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2009 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Students are tested in math, critical reasoning, and writing. The 16,000 Semifinalists honored are the highest-scoring entrants in their state and represent less than 1 percent of each state’s high school seniors.
For these Gatton Academy seniors, it’s a great way to begin their final year of high school even as they focus on the college admissions process ahead. According to Gatton Academy Director Tim Gott, this is just the beginning of a busy—and rewarding—year.
“With this recognition, these students have earned a key that will open tremendous educational opportunities,” Gott said. “We look forward to seeing what these students will accomplish in the days ahead.”
To be considered in the rigorous competition for National Merit Scholarships, Semifinalists must advance to the Finalist level of the competition by meeting additional standard and fulfilling several requirements. These include having a record of very high academic performance of college preparatory course work, submitting SAT scores that confirm PSAT performance, and being fully endorsed and recommended by a high school official.
Gatton Academy students honored in the program are recognized through their sending high school. Since students take the qualifying PSAT exam in October of their junior year of high school, much of the preparation stems from learning opportunities during their freshman and sophomore years of high school. The Gatton Academy builds on those experiences to provide students with a robust application and preparation for the SAT, a critical component in becoming a finalist.
“It is an incredible honor to be named a National Merit semifinalist,” Gott said. “These remarkable young people have been strongly prepared by their home high schools and the Gatton Academy is privileged to be able to contribute to the ongoing education of these outstanding students.”
2011 Gatton Academy National Merit Semifinalists:
Michael Bowie (Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, Fayette County)
Katherine Goebel (Shelby County High School, Shelby County)
Justine Missik (Boyle County High School, Boyle County)
Tejas Sangoi (Daviess County High School, Daviess County)
Tyler Scaff (Oldham County High School, Oldham County)
Natalie Schieber (Elizabethtown High School, Hardin County)
Sarah Schrader (Greenwood High School, Warren County)
Jonathan Serpico (Elizabethtown High School, Hardin County)
Josh Song (Bowling Green High School, Warren County)
Paras Vora (Daviess County High School, Daviess County)
Kelsey Wagner (Bullitt East High School, Bullitt County)
Finalists will be named in winter 2011.
For more information, contact Corey Alderdice at (270) 745-2971.
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