Nine Blair students are candidates for Presidential Scholars awards

Nine Blair students were selected as 2004-2005 Presidential Scholars award candidates. These students represent half of all MCPS candidates, according to the MCPS Bulletin.

The Presidential Scholars Program recognizes high-school seniors for their academic and art achievement. Nationwide, 2,600 students were selected as candidates based on their SAT and American College Testing assessment scores, and 50 students were selected based on their achievement in the arts.

Seniors Koyel Bhattacharyya, Martino Choi, Patrick Detzner, Sherri Geng, Kendra Leigh, Eric Ma, Min Wu and Lida You were selected for the academic component, and senior Rebecca Sugar was selected for the art component.

To apply, students wrote essays, completed a questionnaire and received recommendations from teachers, according to Bhattacharyya. A committee then aimed to select a group of 40 students with the highest SAT scores from each state. This year, Maryland had about 46 candidates.

An independent committee will choose 500 semifinalists based on their personalities, achievements, leadership skills, services and activities. In April, 121 academic scholars and 20 arts scholars will be selected by the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars and will be invited to attend a "National Recognition Week" in Washington, D.C., in June. Scholars will meet the President of the United States, receive a medallion and participate in activities with educators.