Nice piece of news on two members of last year's Arkansas Times Academic All-star Team.
The two, Whitney Gao and Joseph Berleant, both from Little Rock Central High School, were Arkansas's AP Scholars for 2012. A male and female student from each state are named each year based on scores of 3 or higher on the greatest number of Advanced Placement exams and the highest average score.
The Little Rock School District reported:
Whitney Gao took a total of 21 exams in the following AP subjects: Art History, Biology, Calculus AB and BC, Chemistry, Chinese Language and Culture, Comparative Government and Politics, Computer Science A, English Language and Composition, English Literature and Composition, Environmental Science, European History, Human Geography, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Physics B, Physics C/Mechanics, Psychology, Statistics, United States History, and World History from 2009 to 2012 and earned a mean score of 4.90.
Gao is now a freshman studying at Harvard University. Her AP Physics teacher, Patrick Foley, at Central describes her as one of the most fantastic students he has ever had. "She continually amazed me with her dedication, insight, and talent. Her leadership skills were exemplary, guiding our robotics team from novice beginnings to regional competitors. For her senior year, she dominated my AP Physics B class, always scoring highest on assessments. She even scored perfectly on two tests, a feat no other student has accomplished in all my years of teaching! Even when stressed, she maintained a positive and energetic demeanor."
Joseph Berleant also took a total of 21 exams in the following AP subjects: Art History, Biology, Calculus AB and BC, Chemistry, Computer Science, English Language and Composition, English Literature and Composition, Environmental Science, European History, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Physics B and C/Mechanics, Psychology, Spanish Language, Spanish Literature, Statistics, United States Government and Politics, United States History, and World History from 2010 to 2012 and earned a mean score of 4.71.
Berleant is now a freshman studying at the California Institute of Technology. His AP Statistics teacher, Summer Vaught, at Central describes him as one of the most moral and honorable students she's encountered in her career. According to Vaught, "He pushed himself and other students to their fullest potential. As a member of the National Science Bowl team that competed in Washington DC, he was always the student who pushed us to work harder and longer during each and every practice. His dedication to his studies is truly amazing."