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AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | DECEMBER 28, 2016
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Ahwatukee Merit Scholarship semifinalists honored AFN News Staff
T
empe Union High School District recently honored a Mountain Pointe High senior and 15 Desert Vista High seniors who were named National Merit Scholarship semifinalists. Semifinalists must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, demonstrated leadership abilities, participation in school and community activities, be recommended by the school principal and write an essay. Roughly 90 percent of semifinalists will be named finalists, competing for some 7,500 scholarships worth about a total $33 million. Here is a closer look at Mica Stewart of Mountain Pointe and the 15 Desert Vista semifinalists.
MICA STEWART
Honors: Arizona Youth Leadership Forum Alumni Association (co-founder and chair), Digital Construction Club president, Mu Alpha Theta treasurer, National Council on Independent Living delegate, National Honor Society member, Tae Kwon Do second degree black belt. College choice: Arizona State University, Stanford University or Reed College. Planned study: Undecided. Career plans: Undecided..
MYA CARRIZOSA
Honors: National Hispanic Recognition Program, Rho Kappa National Social Studies Honor Society officer, varsity cross country captain. College choice: UCLA, UC Berkeley or ASU. Planned study: Psychology. Career Plans: Undecided.
JOCELYN CHEN
Honors: ABODA All-State Orchestra Violinist three years, American Invitational Mathematics Examination Qualifier, American Mathematics
Competitions Honor Roll, American Protégé International Competition second place in concerto and third place piano and string, AzSEF second place in biomedical and health sciences, HOSA, Medical Reading first place in state and national qualifier, Scholastic Writing Awards for critical and personal essays. College choice: Brown, Johns Hopkins or Washington University. Planned study: Biochemistry, biomedical engineering. Career plans: Pediatric physician.
KYLE CORRETTE
Honors: Built a 3-D-printed life-size animatronic upper body and a heavy-lift FPV quad copter; designed, developed and published four mobile applications with sales in 24 countries; Future Engineers Star Trek Replicator Challenge Award from NASA & ASME, Jazz Band, Speech & Debate Team. College Choice: Cal Poly, Purdue or Barrett Honors College at ASU. Planned study: Aerospace engineering. Career plans: Aerospace engineer.
HANNAH FUCHS
Honors: AP Scholar with Distinction, certified as an intermediate-mid Russian language speaker, Harvard Medical School’s Department of Global Health & Social Medicine intern, National Security Language Initiative for Youth Scholarship to study Russian abroad, Peer Tutoring Organization president. College choice: American University, Johns Hopkins or NYU. Planned study: Public health. Career plans: Epidemiologist.
BRANDON JIANG
Honors: American Protégé International Piano & Strings Competition 2014 Honorable Mention, Arizona Quiz Bowl Association season introductory competition first place team and individual honors, national qualifier and captain; Music Teachers National Association State Competition second place in senior piano, Music Teachers National
Association SW Division Competition finalist in senior duet piano, National AP Scholar, USA Mathematical Olympiad qualifier, USA Junior Mathematical Olympiad qualifier. College choice: Stanford, MIT or ASU. Planned study: Computer science, data science. Career plans: Data scientist.
MATTHEW JOBE
Honors: Academic Excellence Certificate for three years, crosscountry, National Honor Society. College choice: ASU, NAU or Colorado State University. Planned study: Computer science, information assurance. Career plans: Information assurance.
BOBAE JOHNSON
Honors: National AP Scholar, National Council of English Teachers Certificate 2016 for superior writing, National Honor Society president; Phoenix Symphony, Moscow Ballet, MusicaNova Orchestra and Southern AZ Symphony Orchestra soloist, Phoenix Youth Symphony, North Central Region, Arizona All-State Desert Vista chamber orchestras, valedictorian. College choice: Harvard/New England Conservatory of Music, Rice/Shepherd School of Music or Stanford. Planned study: Engineering, violin performance. Career plans/Goals: Engineer, quartet violinist.
DYLAN KETCHAM
Honors: Flutist, National Honor Society, Speech & Debate Interpretation Captain and National Tournament qualifier. College choice: Barrett Honors College at ASU, Creighton University or Washington University in St. Louis.
Planned study: Actuarial sciences. Career plans: Actuary.
JAEYOUNG KIM
Honors: All-Regional Orchestra, HOSA first place in biomedical debate, National History Bee, QuestBridge college prep scholar, Regional Future Business Leaders of America first place business calculations, U.S. Geography Olympiad top 50. College choice: Yale, Princeton or Columbia. Planned study: Political science. Career plans: Policymaker.
NEHA PARVATHALA
Honors: HOSA first place medical spelling and second place forensic medicine, Arizona Regional Brain Bee first place, Arizona Science Bowl second place, Bharatanatyam Indian Classical Dance graduate, Garcia Research Program participant, National AP Scholar. College choice: Undecided. Planned study: Undecided. Career plans: Undecided.
TYLER RUAN
Honors: AP Scholar with Distinction, Arizona All-State Orchestra violinist, Arizona Music Educators Association Solo & Ensemble Festival superior rating, Chamber Orchestra principal violinist, Contemporary Chinese School of Arizona Excellent Achievement Scholarship, Phoenix Youth Symphony violinist. College choice: Columbia, Duke or USC. Planned study: Chemical engineering. Career plans: Chemical engineer.
KENDALL SCHWARTZ
Honors: AIA Scholar Athlete for three years, class president, National Honor Society, Rho Kappa National Social Studies Honor Society, varsity softball. College choice: Washington University in St. Louis. See
MERIT on page 23