OFE News Release

Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence Announces 2005 Academic All-State Scholars

February 25, 2005
OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence announced today the recipients of the prestigious 2005 Academic All-State Awards. These 100 top public high school seniors, selected from 579 nominations statewide, hail from 76 different schools in 67 Oklahoma school districts.

The 2005 Academic All-State Class is the 19th to be selected by the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence. Since the award program’s inception in 1987, some 1,900 high school seniors from 277 school districts have been named All-State scholars. Each of this year’s All-Staters will receive a $1,500 scholarship, a medallion and a commemorative plaque. The All-Staters will be recognized at the Foundation’s annual Academic Awards Banquet on Saturday, May 21, at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City.

David L. Boren, chairman and founder of the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence, describes the selection of the scholars as “ Oklahoma’s most rigorous academic competition.” To be nominated for Academic All-State, students must meet one of the following criteria: American College Test (ACT) score of at least 30, Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) score of at least 1350, National Merit semifinalist, National Achievement (African American) semifinalist, or National Hispanic Scholar Awards semifinalist. This year’s All-Staters scored an average of 32.9 on the ACT and an average of 1453 on the SAT. One student scored a perfect 36 on the ACT, while three made top scores of 1600 on the SAT. In addition, 44 of this year’s All-Staters are National Merit semifinalists, one is a National Achievement award semifinalist, and one is a National Hispanic semifinalist.

Most Academic All-State nominees are in the top 1 percent academically of all Oklahoma public high school seniors, which makes the selection process very competitive. Once nominated, recipients are selected on the basis of academic achievement, extracurricular activities and community involvement, as well as an essay submitted by each nominee.

The selection committee, which is chaired by Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Marian P. Opala, works independently of all other foundation activities. The committee members are a diverse group of business, education and civic leaders. Academic All-State alumni and former Medal for Excellence winners also sit on the selection committee.

The Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence is a non-profit, charitable organization created in 1985 to recognize and encourage academic excellence in Oklahoma’s public schools. Its Academic Awards Program provides $199,000 in scholarships and cash awards annually to honor outstanding public school students and educators. The foundation provides technical support and assistance to local education foundations across the state, sponsoring the annual Fall Forum for Local Education Foundations.

Among its other initiatives, the Foundation for Excellence coordinates a program to send Oklahoma teachers to the renowned Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute and provides scholarships for schools to receive Colonial Williamsburg Electronic Field Trips, bringing early American history to life in the classroom. The foundation also administers the Schusterman Mentor Program, which pairs Academic All-State alumni with academically at-risk elementary school students, and oversees the new Teacher Scholarships for Professional Development Program, which funds continuing education opportunities for public school teachers.

All-Stater	Hometown	School
Ms. Tiffany Cravey	Ada	Byng High School
Ms. Amanda Waters	Altus	Altus High School
Mr. Adam Tyler Barnes	Anadarko	Anadarko High School
Mr. Ryan Charles	Bartlesville	Bartlesville High School
Mr. Kent Dennis	Bartlesville	Bartlesville High School
Mr. Matthew Keller	Bartlesville	Bartlesville High School
Ms. Kelly Koonce	Bartlesville	Bartlesville High School
Ms. Sarah Swinney	Bethany	Putnam City West High School
Ms. Tamara Malesic	Blair	Navajo High School
Ms. Sarah Frazier	Bristow	Bristow High School
Ms. Amanda Anderson	Bristow	Depew High School
Mr. Robert Brown	Broken Arrow	Broken Arrow High School
Ms. Elizabeth Hullinger*	Broken Arrow	Union High School
Ms. Ambia Cail	Byars	Wanette High School
Mr. Cole Harrison	Carnegie	Carnegie High School
Ms. Rachel Lester*	Catoosa	Catoosa High School
Ms. Mikki Jo Bennett	Checotah	Checotah High School
Ms. Joy Ferreira	Del City	Del City High School
Mr. David Ekman	Drummond	Drummond High School
Mr. Matthew Vice	Drumright	Drumright High School
Ms. Sarah Shutts	Duncan	Duncan High School
Mr. Munim Deen	Edmond	Classen School of Advanced Studies
Mr. Zachary Monnet	Edmond	Deer Creek High School
Mr. Scott Coffey	Edmond	Edmond Memorial High School
Mr. Warren Yates	Edmond	Edmond Memorial High School
Mr. Trevor Holland	Edmond	Edmond North High School
Mr. Walker Robins	Edmond	Edmond North High School
Mr. Jason Chen	Edmond	Oklahoma School of Science & Mathematics
Mr. Matthew Stanley	Edmond	Oklahoma School of Science & Mathematics
Ms. Sarah Stark	Edmond	Oklahoma School of Science & Mathematics
Mr. Jeff Glasgow*	Enid	Drummond High School
Mr. Kai Yuet	Enid	Enid High School
Mr. Travis Hasley	Frederick	Frederick High School
Mr. Matthew Foster	Grove	Grove High School
Ms. Petrina Lamb	Guthrie	Guthrie High School
Mr. Donald Joseph Wilson	Harrah	Harrah High School
Ms. Stephanie Chester	Hulbert	Hulbert High School
Mr. Austin Beerwinkle	Hydro	Hydro-Eakly High School
Ms. Monica Davies	Idabel	Haworth High School
Mr. Jared Balenseifen	Keyes	Keyes High School
Mr. Nicholas Vandal	Lawton	Eisenhower High School
Ms. Lori Lewis	Mannford	Mannford High School
Ms. Haley Adams	McAlester	McAlester High School
Mr. James R. Creech II	Miami	Miami High School
Mr. Brian Howell	Muldrow	Muldrow High School
Mr. Charles O. Fullenwider	Muskogee	Muskogee High School
Mr. Logan Collins	Muskogee	Warner High School
Mr. John Tyler Schwartz	Mustang	Mustang High School
Ms. Jaclyn Pennington*	Newalla	Carl Albert High School
Ms. Emily Virgin	Norman	Noble High School
Mr. Matthew Rhodes	Norman	Norman High School
Mr. David Weiss*	Norman	Norman High School
Mr. Keelan Jensen	Norman	Norman North High School
Mr. Ting Yu	Norman	Norman North High School
Ms. Laura Morton	Oklahoma City	Carl Albert High School
Mr. An Phuoc Nguyen	Oklahoma City	Classen School of Advanced Studies
Ms. Rachel Pollack	Oklahoma City	Classen School of Advanced Studies
Ms. Danielle Wright	Oklahoma City	Moore High School
Mr. Mario Franklin	Oklahoma City	Northeast Academy for Health Sciences & Engineering
Ms. Daniela Mello de Almeida	Oklahoma City	Putnam City High School
Ms. Alisa Ballard	Oklahoma City	Putnam City North High School
Ms. Ziying Zhang	Oklahoma City	Putnam City North High School
Mr. Burke Lewis	Oklahoma City	Santa Fe High School
Mr. Tai Do	Oklahoma City	Westmoore High School
Mr. Derek Knotts	Owasso	Owasso High School
Mr. Bradley Scoggin	Pauls Valley	Pauls Valley High School
Ms. Sameera Rahman	Ponca City	Ponca City High School
Ms. Rebekah Husted	Prague	Prague High School
Mr. Orvel Ballew	Pryor	Pryor High School
Mr. Kirk Taylor	Ramona	Caney Valley High School
Mr. Tyler Young	Ringwood	Fairview High School
Ms. Laci Pritchard*	Seminole	Seminole High School
Mr. Andrew O'Gwynn	Shawnee	Shawnee High School
Mr. Philip Gipson	Stillwater	Stillwater High School
Mr. Steven Klatt	Stillwater	Stillwater High School
Ms. Leslie Ketcher	Stilwell	Stilwell High School
Ms. Kirsten Crittenden	Stroud	Stroud High School
Ms. Lacey Knapp	Talihina	Buffalo Valley High School
Ms. Brette Forinash	Texhoma	Yarbrough High School
Mr. Stony Fath	Tonkawa	Tonkawa High School
Ms. Sarah McMahan	Tulsa	Bixby High School
Ms. Nina Fitzerman-Blue	Tulsa	Booker T. Washington High School
Mr. Jonathan Leitch	Tulsa	Booker T. Washington High School
Ms. Sogol Ahmadinia	Tulsa	Jenks High School
Ms. Diana Davis	Tulsa	Jenks High School
Mr. Kevin Kadakia	Tulsa	Jenks High School
Ms. Taylor Mortensen	Tulsa	Jenks High School
Ms. Sarah Singletary	Tulsa	Jenks High School
Ms. Torrey Winchester	Tulsa	Jenks High School
Ms. Sarah Anoke	Tulsa	Oklahoma School of Science & Mathematics
Mr. Dafang Zhang	Tulsa	Oklahoma School of Science & Mathematics
Mr. Raleigh Redard	Tulsa	Tulsa Memorial High School
Ms. Julie French	Wagoner	Wagoner High School
Mr. Eric Dumas	Watonga	Watonga High School
Ms. Marisa Zook	Waynoka	Waynoka High School
Ms. Kelanie Jones	Weatherford	Weatherford High School
Ms. Melissa Shanay Adams	Wellston	Wellston High School
Ms. Yuning Chen	Wheatland	Mustang High School
Ms. Kendall Brown	Woodward	Woodward High School
Mr. Christopher Czapla*	Yukon	Yukon High School

*indicates the 2005 All-State Scholar is the sibling of a previous winner.

CONTACT:
Brenda Wheelock,
OFE Communications Director
(405) 236-0006; e-mail bwheelock@ofe.org