News of the achievements of local students and members of the Armed Forces.
** Molly Byrne, Margaret Cochran and Madeline Miller of Arlington have been named to the dean’s list for the fall semester at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities.
** Yoel Woldeyes of Arlington has been named to the dean’s list for the fall semester at Wichita State University.
** Melissa Montes, the daughter of Raul Montes and Ana Rodriguez of Arlington; Nathaniel Klein, the son of Daniel Klein and Katherine Wiebler of Arlington; and Cecilia McFadden, the daughter of Ed and Beth McFadden of Arlington have been named to the dean’s list for the fall semester at the University of the South.
** Bennett Curtis of Arlington, a student at Elon University, has been inducted into the Omicron Delta Kappa national-leadership society.
** Eleven Northern Virginia Community College students have been named semifinalists for the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation’s Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship.
The foundation annually supports high-achieving community college students with a demonstrated financial need who are seeking to complete their bachelor’s degrees at selective four-year institutions.
This year’s 440 semifinalists were chosen from a nationwide pool of more than 1,200 applicants attending 180 community colleges in 35 states. Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) students represent nearly two-thirds of Virginia semifinalists this year and, in the past 13 years, 19 NOVA students have received the scholarship.
Semifinalists include Jenna Aylward, Menwa Besheer, Junior de la Iglesia, Anastasia Duenas, Aanya Hasan, Anum Khan, Subin Kim, Kerri Langhorne, Mariah Salazar-Solorzano, Kayla Sherman and Meelod Waheed.
Scholarship recipients will be announced in May. They will receive funding for tuition, room and board, as well as required fees and books for the remainder (up to three years) of the scholar’s undergraduate degree.
In addition to financial support, selected scholars will receive comprehensive educational advising from the foundation to guide them through the process of transitioning to a four-year school and preparing for their careers.
** St. Ann School students Genevieve Cribb and Collin Berke received awards in the John F. Lyon VFW Post 3150 Patriot’s Pen essay competition.
Cribb won first place and Berke took second in the contest, which asked students to write on the topic “How Can I Be a Good American?”
The students recently received awards from VFW Post 3150 Commander Nancy Springer.
Each year, 165,000 students in grades 6-8 compete in the Patriot’s Pen competition, sharing $1.4 million in awards. The national first-place winner will receive $5,000.
The post also honored Gunhee Lee, a student at Episcopal High School, as its first-place winner in the Voice of Democracy audio-essay contest on the topic of “America: Where Do We Go from Here?”
The Voice of Democracy competition, established in 1947, each year draws 65,000 students nationally in grades 9-12 who compete for $2.3 million in scholarships, including a $30,000 top prize.
John Lyon VFW Post 3150 was founded in 1935 and named in honor of U.S. Army Lt. John Lyon, a local resident who was killed in action in France in October 1918 and posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his efforts to rescue a wounded officer on the battlefield.
** Sesh Sudarshan, a student at Swanson Middle School, was named an honorable-mention recipient in C-SPAN’s 2022 StudentCam competition.
Students around the world were invited to produce a short documentary that explored a federal policy or program and addressed the theme “How does the federal government impact your life?” More than 1,400 entries from students in middle and high school were submitted.
“The winners showcased exceptional research and production values as they wove personal stories with historical or contempoary issues,” said Craig McAndrew, director of C-SPAN education relations.
Sudarshan’s entry focused on immigration issues. He was one of 300 students from across the nation to win cash prizes ranging from $250 to $5,000.
For information on the initiative, see the Website at www.studencam.org.
** Six members of Boy Scout Troop 638, sponsored by Little Falls Presbyterian Church, ascended to Eagle Scout status following a Court of Honor ceremony held recently at the church.
Students who achieved Boy Scouting’s highest rank, and their Eagle Scout projects, were:
• Sam Kiser collected wildlife data from around the county for use in preservation efforts.
• Daniel Mundt restored the Peter Rabbit Garden at Tuckahoe Elementary School for use as an additional outdoor classroom.
• Joseph Myers used his interest in architecture to repair a storage shed at Little Falls Presbyterian, and cleared the surrounding area of brush and debris.
• Hugo Soller improved a Potomac Overlook Regional Park playground with additional tables and seating.
• Cole Taylor oversaw the construction of a new footbridge near the outside sanctuary at Little Falls Presbyterian.
• Matt Tyson removed old playground equipment and the construction of new chair racks at Rivendell School.