Paris High School seniors receive College Board National Recognition Program Awards

Pictured left to right: front row – Sophie Smallwood, Aubrey Coco, Addison Andrew, Luke De la Garza, Madeline Green, Anderson Bunch, Mackenzie Martin, and Dakenzi Robinson Back row: Preston Thompson, Jovanny Leon, Curtis Fendley, Ashton Hilliard, Chase Lamb, Tomas Farr, Pablo Melguizo, and Preston Cross

Photo credit: PHS Photography student Lindsey Holleman

Students at Paris High School earned academic honors from the College Board National Recognition Programs. These programs celebrate students’ hard work in high school and showcase their strong academic performance. The academic honors for rural area, Black, Indigenous, and/or Latino students are an opportunity for students to share their strong academic achievements with colleges and scholarship programs that are seeking to recruit diverse talent.

At Paris High School, eighteen students received the academic honor. Addison Andrew, Alexis Raney-West, Anderson Bunch, Ashton Hilliard, Aubrey Coco, Ava Fitzgerald, Chase Lamb, Curtis Fendley, Jovanny Leon, Luke De la Garza, Madeline Green, Pablo Melguizo, Preston Thompson, Sophie Smallwood, and Timothy Cross, all received the National Rural and Small Town Scholar Award; Alexis Raney-West, and Ashton Hilliard also received the National African American Recognition Award along with Dakenzi Robinson. Jovanny Leon, Luke De la Garza, and Pablo Melguizo also received the National Hispanic Recognition Award along with Tomas Farr. Mackenzie Martin received the National Indigenous Award.

The criteria for eligible students include:

     •GPA of 3.5 or higher.

     •PSAT/NMSQT or PSAT 10 assessment scores that are within the top 10% of assessment takers in each state for each award program or earned a score of 3 or higher on 2 or more AP Exams in 9th and 10th grade.

     •Attend school in a rural area or small town, or identify as African American/Black, Hispanic American/Latino, or Indigenous/Native.

Eligible students are invited to apply to BigFuture during their sophomore or junior year and are awarded at the start of the next school year in time to share their achievements in high school as they plan for the future. At the same time, colleges and organizations using College Board’s Student Search Service™ can connect directly with awardees during the recruitment process.

“It’s becoming increasingly hard for students to be ‘seen’ during the college recruitment process. We’re exceptionally proud of the National Recognition Programs for celebrating students who are at times overlooked but have shown their outstanding academic abilities,” said Tarlin Ray, senior vice president of BigFuture® at College Board. “This is a benefit not only for students but also for colleges and universities committed to recruiting diverse and talented students.”