4 Westfield Students Chosen As 2017 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program Candidates

WESTFIELD, NJ — A total of 19 students in Union County including four from Westfield have been nominated as a US Presidential Scholar, a prestigious program that recognizing outstanding graduating high school students.

Westfield students include:

• Nafisa N. Ahmed, Westfield - Union County Magnet High School
• Soo Min Chung, Westfield - Westfield High School
• Stefan T. Crigler, Westfield - Westfield High School
• Nicholas A. Youssef, Westfield - Westfield High School

Over 4,000 students were nominated nationally in recognition of their academic or technical skill. That list will be narrowed down to 800 in April, and a maximum of 161 will be honored in a May ceremony in Washington, D.C.

The U.S. Presidential Scholars Program was established in 1964, by executive order of the President, to recognize and honor some of our nation's most distinguished graduating high school seniors. In 1979, the program was extended to recognize students who demonstrate exceptional talent in the visual, creative and performing arts. In 2015, the program was again extended to recognize students who demonstrate ability and accomplishment in career and technical education fields.

You can see the full list of Union County students, ordered alphabetically, here:

1. Aaron Abkemeier, Summit - Summit High School
2. Ashima Agarwal, New Providence - New Providence High School
3. Nafisa N. Ahmed, Westfield - Union County Magnet High School
4. Nicholas P. Castagna, New Providence - Delbarton School
5. Yueqing Grace Chen, Cranford - Cranford High School
6. Soo Min Chung, Westfield - Westfield High School
7. Stefan T. Crigler, Westfield - Westfield High School
8. Sophia E. Diiorio, Scotch Plains - Academy for Allied Health Sciences
9. Alexander S. Frolov, New Providence - Union County Academy for Information Technology
10. Zachary I. Keller, Summit - Pingry School
11. Christopher J. Kelser, Summit - Summit High School
12. Lubna F. Lakhwala, Union - Union County Magnet High School
13. Eileen Li, Mountainside - Governor Livingston High School
14. Katherine T. Miller, Summit - Kent Place School
15. Andrew M. Mu, Fanwood - Academy for Allied Health Sciences
16. Deblina Mukherjee, Scotch Plains - Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School
17. Ashley M. Rosenberg, Summit - Academy for Allied Health Sciences
18. Nicholas A. Youssef, Westfield - Westfield High School
19. Benjamin K. Zhou, New Providence - Pingry School

(Image via U.S. Dept. of Education)

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