12 New Trier Seniors Named Presidential Scholar Candidates

WINNETKA, IL — A dozen New Trier High School seniors have been named candidates to become part of the 2020 class of U.S. Presidential Scholars. Out an estimated 3.7 million students set to graduate this year, about 4,000 were invited to apply for the prestigious honor this week by the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars.

Former President Lyndon Johnson established the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program with a 1964 executive order, according to the U.S. Department of Education. In 1979, it was expanded to include Presidential Scholars in the Arts. The program was expanded again in 2015 to Presidential Scholars in Career and Technical Education. Application is by invitation only — students are not nominated by their schools and do not apply to become candidates.

The Presidential Scholar candidates for the New Trier High School class of 2020:

• Pearce N. Bailey, of Wilmette
• Connor D. Boehm, of Winnetka
• Nadharm Dhiantravan, of Wilmette
• Pranav A. Doradia, of Wilmette
• Taylor A. Jones, of Wilmette
• Lydia A. Kaup, of Wilmette
• Andrew O. Kearney, of Wilmette
• Margaret K. Lin, of Glenview
• Talia M. Schacht, of Glencoe
• Alina P. Scholz, of Wilmette
• Jacob Wachtel, of Wilmette*
• Irene M. Xu, of Wilmette

The list of eligible candidates in the class of 2020 is expected to be narrowed to about 600 semifinalists in April. The White House-appointed commission then selects 161 scholars — 120 in the general component, 20 in the arts and 20 in career and technical educations.

Winners are traditionally invited to Washington, DC, in June for recognition ceremonies, including a White House-sponsored ceremony with the presentation of Presidential Scholars medallions.

Last year, eight members of New Trier High School's senior class were named Presidential Scholar candidates and New Trier alum Asher Noel, a Kenilworth native who now attends Harvard, was one of four Presidential Scholars from Illinois honored at the White House in June.

*Wachtel is a candidate for the Presidential Scholars for the Arts program. The YoungArts program nominates about 60 students who meet the eligibility for the program.