Becoming a distinguished scholar isn’t an easy task, only the top 10% of seniors which is 30 students on the Academic Honors Diploma can get distinguished. To apply to become a distinguished scholar you have to apply online and fill out a form which asks your questions about your involvement in school from there the students who get the highest amount of points get top ten and they become distinguished and the other twenty students get commended.
“ The questions entail your participation/ qualifications for academic, community service, and extracurriculars.” said senior Aryan Patel
The students who get top ten and the other twenty who get commended is determined by a point system, The point system gives you points Academic, service/leadership,extra and co-curricular activities. The point system is your overall achievements and participation in school.
“I got points for my GPA, dual credit classes, two years as class treasurer, NHS President, three years as a Magpie editor, participating in student council and travel club, a year on the History Academic team, participating in swing choir for three years, a member of the winter fantasy and helping with dance for the winter fantasy.” said senior Gretchen Prifogle
There are some things that get you more points than others like having a GPA of 4.2 or above gets you the most amount of points while mostly everything is worth five or ten points.
“ If you do well in school and your extracurriculars, you get more points. For example, people with a GPA of 4.2 or above get 100 points and athletes with 4 or more varsity letters can get 40 points max. You can also get points for any student council positions and club officer positions.” said senior Vasan Nomany
After filling out the form around January all that is left to do is wait anxiously to get a letter in the mail that tells you if you’re distinguished or commended which went out in early April.
“I received a letter and I opened it and it said that I was a distinguished scholar and I was actually really shocked but now I’m really proud of myself and its definitely a big confidence boost.” said senior Leah Alder
“The letter in the mail telling me that I had gotten accepted took longer to get to my house than the other selected students so I was bummed hearing everyone at school talk about it. For a few hours, I had the impression that I hadn’t even gotten commended.” said senior Connor Gellinger
“I received a letter and I opened it and it said that I was a distinguished scholar and I was actually really shocked but now I’m really proud of myself and its definitely a big confidence boost.” said senior Leah Alder
“I wasn’t really sure that I wasn’t going to get it. There are a lot of great people in the class of 2024. I’ve done a bunch of extracurricular activities, but still.” said senior Elijah Bault
One of the main things you get to do if you become a distinguished scholar is you get the attend a dinner in which you pick your Piller which is someone from the school corporation who has impacted your in a positive way that you get to represent.
“Brian Looker changed my perspective, he is just such a great teacher and I think hes really impacted my direction in life to the point where I even changed my major in life to social studies teachings.” said senior Finley Gay
“Mrs.Combs has definitely played a big role in getting me to where I am right now.” said senior Aryan Patel
‘I chose Kuhn because I feel like he’s had the most influence on me without directly teaching things in a classroom setting, except for when I had him in PE my freshman year. Starting as a scared freshman participating in my first high school sport, throughout the years, he not only helped me become a great athlete but also helped me become a very well-rounded person. He taught me how to be a leader, a great teammate who is dependable and selfless, and how to be prepared for the rest of my career outside the field. His lessons are valuable” said Senior Vasan Nomany
