Seniors from Bellaire, Westside, and The High School for the Performing and Visual Arts make the cut

Seven HISD seniors have been selected as U.S. Presidential Scholar candidates, one of the nation’s highest honors for high school students. 

Six of these candidates were identified for the academic component of the program based on having scored exceptionally well on the SAT or the ACT college entrance exams. These students are Alexandra Gibner, Weiting Ji, Daniel A. Yun, Amy W. Jiang, and Vincent P. Su from Bellaire High School, and Lenzi C. Daniel from Westside High School. Victor Lozano, a student at The High School for Performing and Visual Arts, is a Presidential Scholar in the Arts candidate.

The seven are among 3,300 candidates from the across the Unites States who must now submit a variety of application materials including essays, self-assessments, secondary school reports, and transcripts. The White House Commission on Presidential Scholars selects the scholars based on their academic success, artistic excellence, essays, school evaluations and transcripts, as well as evidence of community service, leadership, and demonstrated commitment to high ideals. In April, the commission will pick 500 semi-finalists. In May, the commission will review the semi-finalists and select up to 121 academic scholars and up to 20 arts scholars. These graduating seniors will be chosen as U.S. Presidential Scholars. 

The U.S. Presidential Scholars Program was established in 1964 by executive order to recognize some of the nation’s most distinguished graduating high-school seniors. In 1979, the program was extended to recognize students who demonstrate exceptional talent in the visual, creative, and performing arts.