Altamont seniors named 2017 Presidential Scholars candidates

Two Altamont seniors have been named 2017 Presidential Scholars Candidates, including Mountain Brook resident Josh Teel. Teel and fellow senior Lucy Pless are among the more than 4,000 candidates nominated nationwide for the Presidential Scholars program, selected from the projected 3 million students expected to graduate from U.S. high schools this year.

The U.S. Presidential Scholars Program, established in 1964 by executive order of the president, recognizes and honors some of our nation’s most distinguished graduating high school seniors. 

Over 4,000 seniors were nominated nationwide, with 89 nominees from Alabama. Application to the program is by invitation only; students are invited to apply based on their SAT or ACT scores or their nomination by a chief state school officer.

In April, the Commission on Presidential Scholars reviews the applications of all semifinalists. The commission selects up to 161 U.S. Presidential Scholars each year. All scholars are honored for their accomplishments during the National Recognition Program, held in June in Washington, D.C.

U.S. Presidential Scholars are guests of the commission during the National Recognition Program and enjoy an expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., to meet with government officials, educators and other accomplished people. To commemorate their achievement, the scholars are awarded the U.S. Presidential Scholars medallion at a ceremony sponsored by the White House.

For more than 50 years, this federal program has honored over 7,000 U.S. Presidential Scholars who have demonstrated leadership, scholarship and contribution to school and community. The work of the Commission on Presidential Scholars reaffirms, on behalf of the president, the nation’s commitment to education.

Altamont is proud to have produced two Presidential Scholars: David Goldenberg in 1997 and Rakesh Goli in 2012.

– Submitted by Margaret Whiteside.