Academic excellence was front and center at the 14th Regional Academic All-Star awards and recognition ceremony Tuesday night, in which 99 local students were highlighted for their educational success.
Students from Christian, Caldwell, Todd, Trigg counties and Fort Campbell were judged in-depth on their academic achievements, extracurricular activities, a personal essay and recommendation letters, and in each of eight disciplines at the high school level, a winner and runner-up were declared
The all-star program recognizes the nominees for top academic students at the public and private middle and high schools in Christian, Todd, Trigg and Caldwell counties. In the high school division, one student and one runner-up will be selected for top honors in eight disciplines — arts, career and technical, English, foreign language, journalism, math, science and social studies/economics. Each top winner will receive up to $2,500 in scholarships.
Overall, $30,000 in scholarships were awarded this year, bringing the total amount given since the program to $300,000 in scholarships with 1,300 students recognized. The event is hosted by the Kentucky New Era and local Rotary clubs.
All high school nominee received a $100 scholarship from the Rotary or Rogers Group, a certificate from U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield’s office, a citation from state Sen. Whitney Westerfield, a plaque, a one-time $500 scholarship if they attend Hopkinsville Community College and a $200 scholarship if they choose to attend Western Kentucky University.
High school runners-up recieved a $250 scholarship to their college of choice from Jennie Stuart and a $100 gift card from United Southern Bank.
Sydney Harper, a Senior at Todd County Central High School, was named runner up in the Journalism category, sponsored by Kentucky New Era. Other Todd County Central High School nominees were:
Matthew Cook - Social Studies
Sydney Harper - Journalism
Preston Rager - Mathematics
Halie Sawyers - English
Kelsey Stuard - Arts
Monte Waldrop - Science
Taylor Williams - Foreign Language
Catherine Wilson - Career & Technical