13 Cherokee County Students Selected For Governor's Honors

CHEROKEE COUNTY, GA — Thirteen Cherokee County School District high school students have been selected for the Georgia Governor’s Honors Program.

The statewide summer honors program for Georgia’s top rising high school juniors and seniors offers four weeks of college-level instruction at Berry College in Rome. Students tapped for the competitive program receive academic instruction, and cultural and social enrichment focused on helping them become the “next generation of global critical thinkers, innovators and leaders.”

In an effort to place the health and safety of students and instructors as the highest priority, the 2020 Governor’s Honors Program originally scheduled for June 14 to July 11 at Berry College will be canceled for the first time since its inception in 1964.

“We’re very proud of these exceptional students for earning spots in this elite program,” Superintendent of Schools Brian Hightower said. “Not only is each impressive for his or her accomplishments, it’s also outstanding to see so many disciplines represented in the group as a whole. It’s a testament to the overall outstanding education our community provides to students and the dedication of our teachers across all subjects.”

The Cherokee County students selected for this program are:

• Creekview High: junior Carson Allen for mathematics, junior Maria Chryssopoulos for theatre, junior Alec Weeks for visual arts
• Etowah High: sophomore Aidan McGowan for music, junior Natalie Nejad for world languages, sophomore Kiera Stevenson for dance, junior Sophie Stewart for music
• River Ridge High: junior Annie Axelsson for engineering, junior Billy Bellini for science
• Sequoyah High: sophomore Wesley Lanter for social studies
• Woodstock High: junior Thomas Arntzen for mathematics, junior Josefina Azuriz for music, and sophomore Michelle Blatnik for mathematics

“It is my honor to congratulate this year’s Governor’s Honors Program finalists. Several members of my staff participated in past programs, so I know firsthand about the intelligent and talented individuals who are chosen to participate,” Gov. Brian Kemp said. “These finalists are our future leaders, and we celebrate and encourage their continued educational growth. While we are disappointed that these finalists are unable to participate as planned, we look forward to continuing to honor and recognize their accomplishments.”

This year’s finalists include 659 rising high school juniors and seniors who were chosen from thousands of nominations received from each of the twelve economic development regions in Georgia. Finalists went through several rounds of intensive competition, including interviews and performances, to be named as finalists for the 2020 Governor’s Honors Program. Plans are underway to publicly honor these students. The Governor’s Office of Student Achievement plans for the 2021 program to include as many of the 2020 finalists as possible, and will provide students with updates about future developments.