Lincoln East grad to be honored as Presidential Scholar
digg it!
Facebook
del.icio.us
Seed Newsvine
Fark It
Reddit
BY MARGARET REIST / Lincoln Journal Star
Lincoln East High School graduate Alexander Churchill will head west this fall to Stanford University to pursue his love of math.
First though, he’ll head east to Washington, D.C., to be honored as one of Nebraska’s Presidential Scholars.
He’ll take with him Leona Penner, the person who nurtured that academic passion and became, over the seven years she taught and coached him, his most inspirational teacher.
For years, Churchill took Penner’s Elements math courses and competed in various math competitions under her direction.
But it wasn’t until he was filling out college applications that he realized math wasn’t just something he was good at; it was something he really enjoyed.
“Definitely, at some point over the seven years since Miss Penner’s been my teacher, I’ve developed a real love for math, and she’s largely responsible for that.”
Churchill is among 139 American high school seniors selected as Presidential Scholars for demonstrating exceptional academic achievement, artistic excellence, leadership, citizenship and service at school and in their communities.
He and the other scholars will be in Washington June 21-24.
Since 1983, Presidential Scholars have invited their most inspiring teacher to go with them to receive a Teacher Recognition Award from the U.S. Department of Education.
Two other Nebraska students were selected as presidential scholars: Collin A. Rees, a graduate of Kearney High School, and Nora M. Kovar, a graduate of Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart in Omaha.
James J. Morin of Lincoln Pius X High School was a semifinalist, along with Elizabeth L. Gray of Omaha Burke and Kirsten A. Miller of Millard North.
The 139 Presidential Scholars represent one young man and one young woman from each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, those from U.S. families living abroad, as well as 15 students chosen at large and 20 Presidential Scholars in the arts.
Of the three million students who graduated from high school this year, more than 3,000 qualified for Presidential Scholar consideration on the basis of their SAT and ACT scores, or were nominated through the National Foundation of Advancement in the Arts program.
U.S. Secretary Margaret Spellings commended the scholars’ commitment to excellence and contributions to society.
Churchill’s contributions include coaching Special Olympics basketball.
Churchill, whose mother teaches special education, said his involvement with Special Olympics began through a peer network club at East that brings together special education students with other students.
A lot of East students really wanted to compete in the Special Olympics but there was no East team, Churchill said.
So a couple of years ago, Churchill began coaching an East basketball team.
“It’s just a lot of fun,” Churchill said. “The kids on the team are really vibrant people. They really enjoy it, which is what makes it so much fun.”
Then there’s academics.
Churchill was a national semifinalist in the Intel Science Talent Search, captain of the team that won the state Science Quiz Bowl championship and a USA Math Olympiad qualifier.
He earned his 4.5 grade point average while taking eight Advanced Placement and honors classes and college-level mathematics courses.
Last week, Churchill — an Academic All-American in speech and debate — accompanied East’s team to Las Vegas to compete in nationals.
This fall, he’ll study math at Stanford, along with computer science or maybe engineering. He thinks working in the field of information theory sounds cool but isn’t sure yet where his studies will lead him.
“I’m going to take four years and hope I come out of it knowing what I want to do,” he said.
Reach Margaret Reist at 473-7226 or mreist@journalstar.com.
Post Your Comment
Standards and RulesYour posted comment will appear after it has been approved.
Frequently asked questions about story commenting.