Three members of the debate team at Vanguard have been designated as debate Academic All Americans by the national debate magazine, Rostrum. Elliott SoRelle is a senior. Austin Freeman and Austin Probe graduated in May. The award is based on a student’s GPA, SAT scores, and a high level of National Forensic League points.

A whopping 1/3 Class of 2008 earned recognition by The College Board! National Hispanic Scholars are Jordan Diaz, Micael DiCorte, and Lauren Wood. National Merit Commended Students are Charlotte Cooper, Haley Hoffman, Ginnie Lowder, Elliott SoRelle, and Lauren Wood. National Merit Semifinalists are Claire Cole, Isla Hamiton-Short, and Tim Latimer. Approximately one-third of the 50,000 high scorers nationwide on the PSAT qualify as National Merit Semifinalists. Finalists will be announced in February.

Dedication is even more important than a pretty smile to Heart of Texas Fair Sweethearts. Megan Welch, Paige Nowlin, Allaire Downs, and Lindsey Reese gave 100 hours of community service, rodeo ticket sales, and tour guide duties for disabled visitors to the fair. Allaire Downs won a $1,000 college scholarship for her fundraising efforts to provide monetary prize money to FFA entry winners.

Jesse Kane, Michael Ramadan, Jonathan Dallas, Jake Schwartz,Richelle Braswell, Blair Beene, Katie Stovall, Ivy Ginsburg, Amy Daughters were recognized by The Duke University Talent Search based on standardized test scores achieved while attending elementary or middle school. Candidates are identified and invited to complete either the SAT Reasoning Test or the ACT Assessment college entrance examination. Duke TIP then provides the participants with comparative information concerning their academic abilities and resources for unique educational opportunities. The goal is to assist young people with excellent mathematical or verbal aptitude.

The program is now beginning its twenty-eighth year and is the largest program of its kind in the nation, representing participation from 6,000 junior high and middle schools in the Duke TIP 16-state region. Over 1.5 million students have completed the Talent Search since its inception in 1980.

Junior Hannah Thompson is spending the semester in Washington D.C. as a Congressional Page in the office of Congressman Chet Edwards. Pages are appointed and sponsored by a member of Congress for one academic semester of the school year, or a summer session. Academic standing is among the most important criteria used in the final selection of pages.

For more than 150 years, messengers known as pages have served the United States Congress. Currently, approximately 100 young men and women from across the nation serve as pages at any given time. Pages must be high school juniors and at least 16 years of age. Several incumbent and former Members of Congress as well as other prominent Americans have served as congressional pages. Senator Daniel Webster appointed the first Senate page in 1829. The first House pages began their service in 1842. The first women were appointed as pages in 1971.