Medish '17 Becomes NCS's 9th Presidential Scholar

Kira Medish '17 has been named a U.S. Presidential Scholar, one of the country's most prestigious honors for high school seniors.
 
Medish was one of 161 students chosen nationally by the Education Department. She will be formally recognized June 18 in a ceremony sponsored by the White House, following several days of recitals, receptions, and ceremonies held in the scholars' honor.
 
Medish becomes the ninth scholar named from NCS since the program began in 1964, and the second in her family: Her brother Vadim, a St. Albans graduate, was so honored in 2012. Another brother, Nikolai STA '15, was a program semifinalist.
 
Kira said Thursday that Vadim's experience as a scholar helped inspire her to pursue the same honor. "He absolutely loved it," she said, "and there's really no harm in putting your essays out there and seeing what happens. I thought, why not? Any opportunity is an opportunity to be taken."
 
Medish said she is particularly looking forward to "networking with other students around the country and learning their stories. From what my brother has said, that's really the most interesting part."
 
At NCS, Medish has been a standout in the classroom—she was inducted last month into the school's Cum Laude Society chapter—performs in the chorale, serves as a peer mentor and peer tutor, and has competed on the cross country and track and field teams. Last summer, she interned at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, where she investigated a way to identify neurological disease. "I really like writing," she said, but adds, "I am more drawn to science and medicine, and I took a lot of classes at NCS that were oriented toward that: anatomy and biotech."
 
Each year, the Education Department considers only about 0.1% of the country's 3.5 million high school seniors for the program, and this year, seven NCS students received consideration, with academic and artistic achievements, leadership qualities, community involvement, and strong character factoring into the selection committee's decisions.
 
"I congratulate this year's class of Presidential Scholars for their devotion to academic excellence and their parents and teachers who have guided them along the way," Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said in a statement. "Today's Presidential Scholars are tomorrow's leaders, and I am confident they will continue to be shining examples as they enter the next phase of their academic careers."
 
Also recognized by the Education Department will be Latin teacher Katharine Sheeler as a Distinguished Teacher. Ms. Sheeler taught Medish for four years, and Medish's application identified her as "the educator influenced you most significantly."
 
"She opened up the classics world to me," Medish explained Thursday. "She's really three-dimensional as a teacher, weaving in her own personal narrative into the classes, which I found really interesting."
 
Ms. Sheeler, in turn, recalled Medish as a "very soothing presence in class. She's a great listener and, when she raises her hand, I knew she'd have something meaningful that would encourage the conversation to build."
 
Congratulations to both Kira and Ms. Sheeler!
 
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Here are the nine NCS students who have been named Presidential Scholars by the U.S. Education Department:
  • 1974: Francine Alexander
  • 1984: Julia L. Glade
  • 1985: Stacey D. Anderson
  • 1986: Anne C. Handwerger
  • 1993: Margo S. Flug
  • 1998: Susanna M. Flug
  • 2007: Susan M. Glass
  • 2014: Natasha S. Turkmani
  • 2017: Kira L. Medish
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    • Kira Medish '17 becomes the second Presidential Scholar from her family.