Baldwin school district celebrates students who were awarded with academic honors

A total of 17 students at Baldwin High School earned academic honors from the 2023 College Board National Recognition Programs, which celebrate students’ hard work in high school and showcase their strong academic performance.

The academic honors for rural area, Black, Indigenous, and/or Latino students are an opportunity for students to share their strong academic achievements with colleges and scholarship programs that are seeking to recruit diverse talent. The programs recognize underrepresented students who excel academically on College Board assessments, including PSAT/NMSQT, PSAT 10, and AP exams. Students can include this academic accolade on their college applications, and many colleges intentionally recruit awardees through College Board’s Student Search Service.

The following Baldwin High School students were among this year’s award winners: Aaron Ashby, Abigail Kaminski, Alisa Reid, Bianca Samedy, Caitlyn Pesante, Camdresa Davis, Carter Hoskins, Celisa Benoit, Chelsea Panky, Cydney Herrera, Jasmin Tiong Smith, Jayla Cantre, Jisselle Porter, Jordan Simpson, Justice Riddick, Kadence Blount, Kayla Anderson, Kayla Hargrove, Kaylah Deriphonse, Melany Mendoza, Paul Clement, Reyna Palmer, and Samantha Cruz.

“I am extremely proud of our students for being recognized by the College Board and congratulate them on this distinction,” said Neil Testa, principal of Baldwin High School. “It’s moments like this that make me even prouder to be the principal of Baldwin High School. This is an incredible achievement and solidifies the fact that our educators, staff and students continue to raise the bar.”

The criteria for eligible students include: GPA of 3.5 or higher, PSAT/NMSQT or PSAT 10 assessment scores that are within the top 10% of assessment takers in each state for each award program or earned a score of 3 or higher on 2 or more AP Exams in 9th and 10th grade, attend school in a rural area or small town, or identify as African American/Black, Hispanic American/Latino, or Indigenous/Native.

High-achieving students from all fifty states and U.S. territories are eligible to apply to four programs: National African American Recognition Program, National Hispanic Recognition Program, National Indigenous Recognition Program, and/or National Rural/Small Town Recognition Program. Eligible students are invited to apply on BigFuture during their sophomore or junior year and are awarded at the start of the next school year in time to share their achievements in high school as they plan for the future. At the same time, colleges and organizations using College Board’s Student Search Service can connect directly with awardees during the recruitment process.

“It’s becoming increasingly hard for students to be ‘seen’ during the college recruitment process. We’re exceptionally proud of the National Recognition Programs for celebrating students who are at times overlooked but have shown their outstanding academic abilities,” said Tarlin Ray, senior vice president of BigFuture at College Board. “This is a benefit not only for students but also for colleges and universities committed to recruiting diverse and talented students.”