Wang '19 Becomes NCS's 10th Presidential Scholar

Maggie Wang '19 has been named a U.S. Presidential Scholar, one of the country's most prestigious honors for high school seniors.

 

Wang was one of 161 students chosen nationally by the Education Department, the 55th class of Presidential Scholars. She will be formally recognized June 23 in a ceremony sponsored by the White House, following several days of recitals, receptions, and ceremonies held in the scholars' honor.

 

Wang becomes NCS's 10th scholar since the program began in 1964, and the third in six years. Also named a Presidential Scholar was St. Albans senior Shiva Khanna Yamamoto — the first time since 1998 that students of both schools were honored in the same year.

 

At NCS, Wang has been a standout in the classroom—she was inducted last month into the school's Cum Laude Society chapter—and in the arts: She performs in the Upper School Chorale, as a Cathedral dancer, and as a writer—she won a Gold Key this winter for her poetry in the regional Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.

 

"I see myself as an artist," she said Tuesday, "and all these different art forms have been ways to express myself, a way to open up the world."

 

Wang was co-editor in chief of this year's Half in Earnest literary magazine; she has contributed to the publication each year since coming to NCS as an 8th grader. "I've been a writer for a long time, and I enjoyed continuing that part of NCS tradition," she said.

 

This winter, she served as secretary-general of the inaugural NCS Model United Nations Conference, a role that Wang says stemmed from her global experience and interest in international affairs.

 

"I knew other schools that had Model UNs, and I thought it would be really neat if NCS had one, too," she said.

 

Also this year, Wang presented to the Upper School about her Raiser Environmental Fellowship studying malaria and mosquitoes, and she played a part in a global livestream for International Day of the Girl.

 

"I came to NCS because I knew it would offer new and challenging opportunities for me each year, and I have a lot of varied interests," Wang said.

 

Each year, the Education Department considers only about 0.1 percent of the country's 3.6 million high school seniors for the program, and this year, eight NCS students received consideration, with academic and artistic achievements, leadership qualities, community involvement, and strong character factoring into the selection committee's decisions.

 

"I want to congratulate this year's class of Presidential Scholars on their achievement both inside of the classroom and out," Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said in a statement. "Their hard work and commitment to excellence, no matter what challenge they are tackling, will serve them well throughout their lifelong learning journeys. I have no doubt that many of tomorrow's leaders are among this year's class of Scholars."

 

Also recognized by the Education Department will be English teachers Alexandra Sundman and Paige Blumer as Distinguished Teachers. Sundman has been Wang's advisor for the past three years, and she taught her in two semester classes: Writing Seminar and Asian American Literature. Blumer taught St. Albans's Yamamoto in two semester classes: American Literary Traditions and 20th-Century Literature of War.

 

Congratulations to both Maggie, Dr. Sundman, and Ms. Blumer!

 

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Here are the 10 NCS students who have been named Presidential Scholars by the U.S. Education Department: