North Springs Charter Names 2015 STAR Student

Photos: North Springs 2015 STAR Student Nicholas Evgenios Redd and 2015 STAR Teacher Rahim Ghassemian. Credits: North Springs Charter High School

North Springs Charter High School is pleased to announce that senior Nicholas Evgenios Redd has been named its 2015 STAR Student.

Redd, 17, of Sandy Springs, is the son of Drs. Douglas and Gena Volas-Redd.

A NSCHS math and science magnet student, he scored 2,270 on the SAT and 800 on the math SAT II. Redd currently attends the University of West Georgia where he is completing high school as a dual enrolled student in The Advanced Academy of Georgia. He will graduate with North Springs’ class of 2015 and is currently ranked sixth in his class.

He selected his North Springs’ AP Calculus teacher, Rahim Ghassemian, as the school’s 2015 STAR Teacher. Ghassemian holds a degree in metallurgical engineering from Iran’s Sharif University and undergraduate and master’s degree in math education from Kennesaw State University.

Ghassemian has taught mathematics, including AP Calculus AB/BC, math of industry and government, geometry, algebra and math support, at North Springs for the past seven years.

In addition to teaching, he has spent nearly 35 years translating over 25 books of nonfiction including film history, movies, politics, history and media from English into Farsi.

Redd is a UWG Presidential Scholarship recipient, on the Dean’s list and was awarded a $5,000 UWG UWISE grant to conduct astronomy research. He is a student researcher and student instructor at the UWG Observatory studying the formation of binary star systems and leads public and private group astronomical observations.

He is also an Advanced Academy student ambassador and representative to UWG’s Honors College and is treasurer of the Academy’s student government.

In 2014, he worked at startup 4C Talent, where he has developed the company’s business software and since 2013, has worked as a summer intern at Georgia Tech Research Institute’s UAV/Drone Lab.

At North Springs Redd was a Super Honor Roll student, a Toshiba Explora Vision Runner-Up, an FBLA state finalist in the technology competition, president of the Math Team and varsity tennis player.

He also volunteers as a math tutor, at Fernbank Science Center and through the Greek Orthodox Youth of America volunteer program. Redd has been accepted at both Georgia Tech and Cal Tech and plans to major in applied physics.