North Springs Names 2016 STAR Student, Teacher

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Sandy Springs, GA -- A stand-out athlete with an impressive academic career has been named the 2016 STAR Student at North Springs Charter High School.

This year’s honor has been awarded to Luke Muehring, the 17-year-old son of Mitch and Veronica Muehring of Dunwoody.

A math and science magnet student, Muehring has a perfect score in math 800 and the highest SAT score 2,350 -- taken -- during one sitting of any senior in his class.

In addition to having taken 13 AP classes, including Multi Variable Calculus through North Springs’ distance learning class with Georgia Tech, Muehring is a world class athlete in speed climbing, scaling a 15-meter wall in just over 7 seconds.

• RELATED: North Springs Student Competing in Youth World Climbing Championship

In August, he traveled to Arco, Italy, as a member of the four man US Speed Climbing team, to compete with athletes from 55 countries in the 2015 Youth World Climbing Championships. Ranked third in the USA, he is now ranked 10th in the World in Speed Climbing in the 16-17 year old category, following his success in Arco.

Additionally, Muehring is a 2016 National Merit semifinalist, a National AP Scholar with Distinction, a member of National Honor Society and a Georgia Certificate of Merit Scholar. For the past two years, he has served as the president and founder of the SAT Club at North Springs, coordinating tutoring and coaching for students needing help with standardized tests.

Since 2014, he has also volunteered with Catalyst Sports, assisting in coaching, fundraising and organizing rock climbing events for people with physical disabilities and an interest in rock climbing.

Muehring, a recipient of the UGA Presidential Leadership Award, is currently a semifinalist for Georgia Tech’s presidential scholarship and a finalist for Southern Methodist University’s Presidential Scholar award. While he is not certain where he will be going to college, he intends to pursue a focus in technology and continue speed climbing.

Muehring selected his North Springs’ AP Calculus teacher, Rahim Ghassemian, as STAR teacher.

Ghassemian, who holds a degree in metallurgical engineering from Iran’s Sharif University, and undergraduate and Master’s degree in math education from Kennesaw State University, has been teaching mathematics- including AP Calculus AB/BC, Math of Industry and Government, Geometry, Algebra and math support at North Springs for the past eight 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.

This is the second time he has been honored as North Springs’ STAR Teacher.

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Photo: 2016 STAR Student Luke Muehring, left, and STAR Teacher Rahim Ghassemian. Credit: North Springs Charter High School