More Than 30 Leander ISD Students Earn Distinction As Hispanic Scholars

LEANDER, TX — Several Leander ISD students have earned recognition through the National Hispanic Recognition Program designed to highlight high academic achievement, officials said Monday.

The 31 students were honored based on their scores on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), district officials noted.

“It’s great to see these students’ hard work recognized,” district superintendent Dan Troxell said. “Congratulations to them for earning this prestigious distinction.”

Among those honored:

• Two Cedar Park High School students were honored, Brandon Castillo and Amanda Montanez Alvara;
• Six Leander High School students, Allen Campoy, Victor Carrillo, Shelby Kawejsza, Cynthia Nguyen, Angela Permenter and Stephan Zaparolli;
• Four Rouse High School students, Adam Eckert, Marisa Macias, Dylan Rowling and Joshua Sanders;
• Eleven Vandegrift High School students, Alexander Borges, Liliane Cowley, Jordan Daniels, Hannah Davidson, Sophia Froenlich, Natiel Gomez, Morgan Nanez, Erica Munoz, Sophia Povedano, Jesse Riedel and Rachel Williams;
• Nine Vista Ridge High School students, Calvin Asay, Alexis Barron, Israel Blevins, Lauren Eichner, Maya Gonzales, Daniel Lee, Josilyn Ochoa, Lily Samuels and Jarod Tolbert.

Lisa Nucci, Director of College and Career Readiness, said the number of students honored this year represents a 10 percent increase from 2015.

“This is a 10-percent increase in the number of National Hispanic Scholars since last year, outpacing district growth. We are very proud of these students and this accomplishment," Nucci said.

The College Board’s National Hispanic Recognition Program (NHRP) identifies academically outstanding Hispanic/Latino high school students. Each year, the NHRP honors about 5,000 of the highest-scoring students from more than 250,000 Hispanic and Latino juniors who take the PSAT/NMSQT.

Students bestowed with the honor come from a wide swath that includes the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Mariana Islands and the Marshall Islands, as well as U.S. citizens attending schools abroad, officials noted.
To qualify for the recognition and potential scholarships, students must reach several qualifications: they must take the PSAT/NMSQT in October of their junior year; be at least one-quarter Hispanic or Latino descent and identify as Hispanic/Latino on their PSAT/NMSQT answer sheet where it asks for race and ethnicity; achieve the minimum required PSAT/NMSQT cutoff score as set yearly by the College Board; and achieve a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher by the middle of their junior year are designated as Scholars.

The NHRP then makes this information available to subscribing colleges and universities. Students are encouraged to indicate that they have been recognized as a National Hispanic Recognition Scholar on college scholarship, internship and job applications, officials said.

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