Hightower Named Academic All-State

  • Senior Noah Hightower has been named an Academic All State recipient. Hightower will be recognized at a banquet held in Norman later this May. K.A. Hightower I Watonga Republican
    Senior Noah Hightower has been named an Academic All State recipient. Hightower will be recognized at a banquet held in Norman later this May. K.A. Hightower I Watonga Republican

The Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence has announced the recipients of its prestigious 2020 Academic All-State Awards, including Noah Hightower from Watonga High School. These 100 top public high school seniors, selected from 495 nominations statewide, hail from 75 schools in 69 Oklahoma school districts. Watonga also had an Academic All Stater last year, Ruby Edsall.

The 2020 Academic AllState class is the 34th to be selected by the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence. Since the award program’s inception in 1987, some 3,400 high school seniors from 326 school districts have been named Academic All-State scholars. Three high schools will celebrate their first Academic All-Stater: Hooker High School, Oklahoma Virtual Charter Academy and Silo High School.

Each of this year’s AllStaters will receive a $1,000 merit-based scholarship and a medallion. The All-Staters will be recognized at the foundation’s 34th annual Academic Awards Banquet on May 16 at the Embassy Suites Conference Center in Norman.

Cathryn Render, president of the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence, describes the selection of the scholars as “Oklahoma’s most rigorous academic competition.” To be nominated for Academic AllState, students must meet one of the following criteria: an American College Test composite score of at least 30; a combined SAT evidencebased reading, writing and math score of at least 1370; or be selected as a semi-finalist for a National Merit, National Achievement or National Hispanic Scholarship.

This year’s All-Staters scored an average of 33.9 on the ACT, with 15 recipients scoring a perfect 36. The students’ average GPA was 4.20. In addition, 40 of this year’s All-Staters are National Merit semifinalists, and two are National Hispanic Scholar semifinalists.

Academic All-Staters are selected based on academic achievement, extracurricular activities and community involvement, as well as letters of recommendation and an essay submitted by each nominee. The selection committee, which is chaired by retired Tulsa attorney Teresa B. Adwan, works independently of all other foundation activities. The committee members are a diverse group of business, education and civic leaders, as well as past Academic Awards Program honorees.

The Academic Awards Banquet is open to the public, with admission priced at $50. The awards ceremony will later be televised statewide by OETA, the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority. For more information, call the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence office at (405) 236-0006 or visit its website at www.ofe.org.

Connie Burcham can be reached at Editor@WatongaRepublican.com