Eleven high school seniors from the Huntsville City Schools District have been selected as Presidential Scholar Candidates for 2020. That’s the highest number in over five years. Grissom High School has eight candidates and Huntsville High School has three. The students honored from Huntsville High are Ella Michael, Ella Burch, and Kittson Hamill. Grissom High Schools’ candidates are Nicole Anthony, Julia Petterson, Patrick Gamble, James Hwang, Jabin Justin, Jake Greer, Ming Shen, and Emily Cowart. The 11 students join an elite group of over 5000 seniors from across the country and over 80 in the state as a Presidential Scholar Candidate. Students selected as candidates must complete applications by the end of February. Presidential Scholar Semi-Finalists will be announced in April and Finalists will be revealed in May.
All the students expressed excitement and gratitude on receiving the news. 'I believe for all of the candidates, our high school career has prepared us for this application” said Grissom senior, James Hwang, “and we’re all ready for the next step”. Huntsville senior Ella Burch shared, “I think it’s a big honor to be nominated for such recognition”.
The White House Commission on Presidential Scholars selects students from across the country based on their academic success along with essays, transcripts, school evaluations, community service, leadership, and commitment to high ideals. Each year, up to 161 students are named as a Presidential Scholar Finalist with up to three students selected from Alabama. Last year, Alison Hu from Grissom High was selected as a 2019 Presidential Scholar. Finalists will be invited to a National Recognition Program held in June in Washington D.C.