College Board Recognizes Two Huntington Juniors
The College Board's national Hispanic recognition program has identified Huntington High School juniors Alexander Castillo and Naomi Medina-Jaudes as being among the most academically outstanding students in the nation.
This year's recognition program will honor about 5,000 of the highest scoring students from more than 250,000 Hispanic/Latino juniors across the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Mariana Islands, the Marshall Islands and U.S. citizens attending schools abroad who sat for last fall's PSAT/National Merit Scholarship qualifying test.
"Over the last several years the high school and the district have worked cooperatively to increase and diversify the number of students challenging themselves with Advanced Placement courses and taking high stake tests such as the PSAT," Huntington Principal Carmela Leonardi said. "Those numbers are increasing each year thanks to the encouragement that teachers and guidance counselors give students and their families. The two students that were selected for this honor are very deserving. They have worked hard and challenged themselves with a rigorous program. We are all very proud of their accomplishments."
Mr. Castillo and Ms. Medina-Jaudes met the qualifying PSAT/NMSQT cutoff score and the cumulative grade point average requirements for the recognition program. Mr. Castillo, who is also president of Huntington's Class of 2014, was earlier named one of the 12 Huntington High School students who have qualified for next year's National Merit scholarship program.
The entire district is taking pride in the recognition bestowed upon Mr. Castillo and Ms. Medina-Jaudes. "This provides yet another excellent example of students' recognizing that hard work pays dividends," Superintendent James W. Polansky said. "Alexander and Naomi have excelled in the classroom and continue to exert their positive influence within the school community. We couldn't be prouder of or happier for them."
"Although the national Hispanic recognition program does not provide a financial reward, being named is an important academic recognition and this achievement should be indicated on college applications," according to the College Board's website. "NHRP is proud to honor outstanding students and make this information available to subscribing colleges and universities that are particularly interested in communicating with academically exceptional Hispanic/Latino students."