 MAC Scholar senior Abhiram Kudaravalli has had a great start to the 2022-23 school year.
Abhiram, who goes by Abhi for short, was recently one of 16,000 students announced as a semifinalist for the National Merit Scholarship based on the score he earned on the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT). Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements including completing an application, having a consistently very high academic record, writing an essay, being endorsed and recommended by a school official, and taking the SAT® or ACT® and earning a score that confirms the PSAT/NMSQT performance. Approximately 15,000 of the high school seniors are expected to move to the finalist stage of the competition. However, only approximately 7,600 of the finalists will be named Merit Scholars and receive National Merit Scholarships worth collectively nearly $28 million that will be offered next spring. In addition, last year, Abhi also performed outstanding on the ACT test and achieved a perfect score of 36! Abhi is a MAC Scholar Leadership Team Member, a member of the National Honor Society and a member of the cross country team. Abhi aspires to attend medical school and one day become an orthopedic surgeon. We have no doubt that Abhi will reach his goals!
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 Guadalupe is the Vice President for the MAC Scholars-SCW and was just awarded a QuestBridge scholarship on Dec. 1st which will give her a full-ride scholarship to the University of Notre Dame.
Earlier this year, Guadalupe competed with over 16,500 applicants and was chosen as one of 6,312 finalists to be considered for the QuestBridge National College Match program. The pool of 6,312 finalists was narrowed down to 1,674 high school seniors, including Guadalupe, that were matched with one of QuestBridge's 45 college partners. Guadalupe is a member of NHS, HOSA, Renaissance, and the Girls Varsity Tennis Team. Mrs. Stephanie Moran is her school counselor. We are so excited for Guadalupe and want to congratulate her on being a 2021 QuestBridge National College Match Scholarship recipient! Celebrations! As Spring gets under way, we have some things to celebrate! Congratulations to Senior Makiya Maclin for being accepted to St. Louis University and being awarded the Vice-President's scholarship which is a monetary amount of $25,000 per year and valued at $100,000 over four years.  Congratulations to Senior and MAC Scholar President, Joshua Nelson, who was selected as one of only 5 students from an applicant pool of 288 students awarded the Presidents Scholarship from Southeast Missouri State University, which is the university's most prestigious scholarship.
The award is valued at $43,000 over four years. Well, it's been several months in the making--but the MAC Scholars of SCW is officially off the ground!
I love the African Proverb that states, "It takes a village to raise a child." I am so excited to partner with our village of students, families, staff and community members to encourage and support all students of color at SCW in pursuing their "best selves" and maximizing their potential. We began our journey on July 14 & 21st with the First Annual Summer Institute where 12 students participated in two, three-hour ACT Prep sessions. The sessions were facilitated by Ms. Dionne Davis, owner of Dynamic Educational Consulting, who did a phenomenal job in providing students with tips and strategies to use when taking the ACT test including managing test anxiety. Ms. Davis also graciously provided students with a free one-on-one session to assist them in setting their ACT achievement goals. That following week, 11 students attended the AP Prep Session where SCW teachers Joshua Ball, Lori Van Houten and Julie Spies conducted the following sessions: How AP Works, Teaching Yourself the Gaps, and Feedback is Not Failure/Value Your Voice. These sessions also included tips on how students can study for and prepare for AP tests and enhance their performance in Advanced Placement Classes. The AP Prep Session concluded with a Student Panel including SCW's Dominic Flint, Yaniah Curry and Aria Lynch (both who are recent graduates of Francis Howell Central High School and former members of FHC's MAC Scholar Leadership Team.) The panelists answered student's questions and offered strategies for managing and excelling in AP classes in general as well as addressing concerns about specific classes. The AP Prep Session was open to not only MAC Scholar members, but all students of color enrolled in an advance level course. Next year, we hope to see even greater numbers of our minority students participate in this activity. We greatly appreciate the involvement of community members Dionne Davis, Joshua Ball, Lori VanHouten and Julie Spies as well as the support of our SCW administrators to host the Prep Sessions. We are also greatly appreciative of the donation made by community member, Renee Fortner and friends, which made the ACT Prep session possible. (See Friends of MAC Scholars of SCW) |
