2001 PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLARS PROGRAM NATIONAL RECOGNITION WEEK June 23 - June 28, 2001 Washington, DC National Recognition Week is Sponsored by The General Motors Corporation GMAC Financial Services The Merck Company Foundation The Presidential1964- Scholars Program Through Thirty-Eight Years... he United States Presidential Scholars Program was established in 1964, by Executive Order of the TPresident, to recognize and honor some of our Nation’s most distinguished graduating high school seniors. Each year, up to 141 students are named as Presidential Scholars, one of the Nation’s high- est honors for high school students. In honoring the Presidential Scholars, the President of the Unit- ed States symbolically honors all graduating high school seniors of high potential. From President Lyndon Baines Johnson to George W. Bush, the Presidential Scholars Program has honored more than 5,000 of our nation’s most distinguished graduating high school seniors. Initiat- ed by President Johnson, the Presidential Scholars Program annually selects one male and one female student from each state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Americans living abroad, 15 at-large students, and up to 20 students in the arts on the basis of outstanding scholarship, service, leadership and creativity through a rigorous selection and review process administered by the U.S. Department of Education. President Johnson opened the first meeting of the White House Commission on Presidential Schol- ars by stating that the Program was not just a reward for excellence, but a means of nourishing excel- lence. The Program was intended to stimulate achievement in a way that could be “revolutionary.” During the first National Recognition Week in 1964, the Scholars participated in seminars with Sec- retary of State Dan Rusk, Astronaut Alan B. Sheppard, and Chief Justice Earl Warren. President Johnson challenged the Scholars to give their talents and time “in our land and in all lands to clean- ing away the blight, to sweeping away the shoddiness, to wiping away the injustices and inequities of the past so that all men may live together in a great world community of decency and excellence.” Over the next decade, several changes occurred in the Presidential Scholars Program. In 1969, the medallion design became the Great Seal of the Nation. In 1972, the National Teacher of the Year was invited to become a Commissioner. Alumni Scholars were invited to serve as Advisors to the program. A booklet of Scholars’ essays on issues facing the nation was issued by the Joint Commission on Arrangements for the Bicentennial in 1976. In 1979, President Carter expanded the program to honor up to 20 students selected by the Com- mission through an artistic competition. In 1980, a compendium of Scholars’ essays, poems, and musical compositions was published, following a performance by the Scholars in the National Acad- emy of Sciences’ auditorium. 2 2001 PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLARS PROGRAM -2001 3 In the 1980s the selection process was refined to emphasize the key elements of leadership and community service. The Horace Mann Learning Center produced a collection of Scholars’ essays on ways to improve the nation’s education system. In 1981, the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts was created and its Arts Recognition and Tal- ent Search program began to conduct the annual artistic competition. In 1983, the Distinguished Teacher awards were created, and the twentieth year celebration of the program included an Alumni reunion and a per- formance by the Scholars at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. In 1994, The American Association for Gifted Children published its second working paper, “The Presiden- tial Scholars: A Portrait of Talent and its Development.” The theme that emerged from the study suggested that the talents of these Presidential Scholars came forth in part because of the encouragement of teachers and parents and in part because their experiences built upon, rather than impeded, their abilities. In 1998, the Distinguished Teacher award was renamed as the Presidential Scholars Program Teacher Recog- nition Award to serve as a means for rewarding good teachers for knowledge, skill, and performance. The award symbolizes the steps that schools, communities, parents, students, teachers, and the U.S. Department of Education are taking to improve teaching and learning in schools across America. As part of the U.S. Department of Education’s continuing effort to honor excellence in education, the role that teachers play in National Recognition Week activities is constantly changing and expanding. It is our hope that we are providing an arena where prospective and experienced educators can see where they are now and where they will need in the future to be in order to meet the new challenges of guiding all students in achiev- ing to higher standards of learning and development. Congratulations To The 2001 PresidentialCong Scholars 4 2001 PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLARS PROGRAM ratulations 5 CongratulationsThe 2001 Presidential From Our Scholars SponsorsSpon Program 6 2001 PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLARS PROGRAM sors 7 Congratulations From Our SponsorsSpon 8 2001 PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLARS PROGRAM sors 9 Presidential Scholars Program 2001Benefa Benefactors The White House Commission on Presidential Scholars and the Presidential Scholars Foundation gratefully acknowledge the funding provided by: Sponsors: President: $75,000 per year contribution and more General Motors Corporation and GMAC Financial Services Merck Company Foundation United States Government Secretary of Education: $25,000 to $49,999 per year contribution Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts 10 2001 PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLARS PROGRAM actors 11 Patrons: Commission: $10,000 to $24,999 per year contribution American Federation of Teachers John Templeton Foundation National Education Association Scholar: $5,000 to $9,999 per year contribution National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations National Italian American Foundation The Taylor Companies Benefactors: Mentor: $1,000 to $4,999 per year contribution American Association of Gifted Children Mr. Thomas E. Britton Ms. Felicia Gervais Ms. Ronnie Liebowitz The Millipore Foundation Ms. Judith R. Olson Contributing Parents of the Parents Initiative Mr. Lawrence P. Sorenson Ms. Margaret Whillock Friend: $500 to $999.99 per year contribution Mr. Joseph D. DiVincenzo Mr. James E. Farmer The MacArthur Foundation Mr. Dan Morris Mr. David Simpson Colleague: $250 to $499.99 per year contribution Mr. Peter Gerber Associate: $50 to $249.99 per year contribution Members of the Alumni Society who generously donated more than the Alumni Society Dues Ms. Nancy Verderber The 2001 Presidential Scholars Program 2001 Presid Nafis Ahmed, Springfield, VA, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology As a proud resident of Northern Virginia, I fervently watch Redskins football every Sunday. Filling out cross- word puzzles, reading science fiction novels, and playing basketball and table tennis with my two brothers also fills my free time. At school, I participate in a variety of extracurricular activities, including debate, drama, and tutoring. As a member of Model UN for four years, I have learned much about the importance of diplomacy, cooperation, and leadership. As a volunteer at Alexandria Hospital for three years, I have realized that doctors touch people’s lives in a magnificent way, a role that I want to partake in some day. As an actor in school drama for only one year, I have already learned much about intonation and body language as well as experi- enced the thrill and excitement of an opening night. When I attend Northwestern University this fall, I plan on delving into anything and everything that is within my reach. Aaron C. Apaza, Rapid City, SD, Interlochen Arts Academy I have always had a creative and inquisitive nature. My parents encouraged me to be curious and to pursue activities that would satisfy my curiosities. My parents, who read to me and encouraged me to listen to music, nurtured my creative nature. Music always fascinated me in a way that few other things do. In fifth grade, I began playing the alto saxophone, which began my career as a musician. After hearing the bassoon for the first time, I decided that I had to play bassoon. Since then, I have studied the bassoon and music with passion and determination beyond that of many of my peers. Nothing is more rewarding to me than playing a beautiful phrase on the bassoon. My training in music and bassoon have brought me success, but more importantly they have brought me a great deal of happiness. Victoria E. Astley, Lakeland, FL, Bartow High School International Baccalaureate Program I was born in New Orleans but now I live in the middle of nowhere. I’m slightly eccentric and am widely believed to be not from this planet. I love fantasy, science fiction and anime. There are a number of hobbies I enjoy but am no good at, including theatre and drawing. I think I’m good at writing, dancing, and martial arts, but there is adequate evidence to the contrary. I do have a talent for languages (French and Japanese so far) and I hope someday to become an astronaut to get as far from here as possible. Love and Peace! Martin T. Authier, Vivian, SD, Lyman High School I was born into a family of four sisters and a brother in rural South Dakota. My family led the life of poor farmers in a small farm house five miles from an organized town and thirty-five miles from a McDonald’s. I led a happy childhood surrounded by love, and, although we did not wear name brand clothes and did not drive fancy cars, we had everything we wanted—we had plenty to eat and plenty of toys to play with. My par- ents have both taught at local schools my whole life; therefore a large emphasis was always placed on acade- mics. Additionally, my father farmed our land and raised a small herd of cattle, so an emphasis was also placed on hard work.