Four Ahwatukee Foothills students were recently nominated for the United States Presidential Scholars Program.
Alex Jang from Mountain Pointe High School and Timothy Lee, Anna Quian and Jordan Spurlin from Desert Vista High School found out they were nominated in late January. About 140 Presidential Scholars will be selected and winners will be announced in May.
Jang, 17, will be attending Columbia University in the fall to study engineering, but he isn't sure in what capacity. He achieved a 2360 combined score on the SAT.
"I am interested in math and science in general," Jang said. "I was surprised when I found out I had been nominated. I would be excited if I win."
Lee, 17, is waiting to decide on what university to attend after he visits some campuses this summer. He scored a 2340 on the SAT.
"I think I have grown a lot in high school and learned a lot about myself through my coursework," Lee said. "I would like to study English or philosophy in college."
Quian, 17, has also not made a decision on where she will attend in the fall. She scored 2340 on the SAT as well.
"I want to do neuroscience in the long run," Quian said. "But I am also thinking about studying English or linguistics as an undergraduate."
Spurlin, 17, has his sights set on Stanford or University of Chicago to study economics. He enjoys his time on the speech and debate team. He scored 2280 on the SAT and 35 on the ACT.
"Through (speech and debate), I like being exposed to all the philosophies and political arguments," Spurlin said. "I think it has helped shape my ideals and it's part of the reason I want to go into politics."
Nominees of the Presidential Scholars Program were selected based off the top SAT and ACT scores around the country. About 20 young men and 20 young women were selected from each state.
