Superintendent Dr. Dan Troxell announced that 31 Leander ISD seniors have earned recognition through the National Hispanic Recognition Program (NHRP) based on their scores on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).

“It’s great to see these students’ hard work recognized,” Troxell said. “Congratulations to them for earning this prestigious distinction.”

 

  • Two Cedar Park High School students were honored: Brandon Castillo and Amanda Montanez Alvara
  • Six Leander High School student was honored: Allen Campoy, Victor Carrillo, Shelby Kawejsza, Cynthia Nguyen, Angela Permenter and Stephan Zaparolli
  • Four Rouse High School students were honored: Adam Eckert, Marisa Macias, Dylan Rowling and Joshua Sanders
  • Eleven Vandegrift High School students were honored: Alexander Borges, Liliane Cowley, Jordan Daniels, Hannah Davidson, Sophia Froenlich, Natiel Gomez, Morgan Nanez, Erica Munoz, Sophia Povedano, Jesse Riedel and Rachel Williams
  • Nine Vista Ridge High School students were honored: Calvin Asay, Alexis Barron, Israel Blevins, Lauren Eichner, Maya Gonzales, Daniel Lee, Josilyn Ochoa, Lily Samuels and Jarod Tolbert

Lisa Nucci, Director of College and Career Readiness noted: “This is a 10-percent increase in the number of National Hispanic Scholars since last year, outpacing district growth. We are very proud of these students and this accomplishment.”

The College Board’s National Hispanic Recognition Program (NHRP) identifies academically outstanding Hispanic/Latino high school students. Each year, the NHRP honors about 5,000 of the highest-scoring students from more than 250,000 Hispanic and Latino juniors who take the PSAT/NMSQT. These students are from the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Mariana Islands and the Marshall Islands, as well as U.S. citizens attending schools abroad.

To qualify for the recognition and potential scholarships, students must take the PSAT/NMSQT in October of their junior year, be at least one-quarter Hispanic or Latino descent and identify as Hispanic/Latino on their PSAT/NMSQT answer sheet where it asks for race and ethnicity, achieve the minimum required PSAT/NMSQT cutoff score as set yearly by the College Board, and achieve a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher by the middle of their junior year are designated as Scholars. The NHRP makes this information available to subscribing colleges and universities. Students are encouraged to indicate that they have been recognized as a National Hispanic Recognition Scholar on college scholarship, internship and job applications.

On Wednesday, Oct.19, 2016, all 9th-11th-grade students in LISD took the PSAT, while juniors are eligible to receive accolades next year based on their scores. For more information and to access free PSAT, SAT and ACT resources, please visit the Leander’s College and Career Readiness website.