Benjamin D. Sando, who attends Centreville High School, is a semifinalist in the the 58th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.
Centreville High School Wind Ensemble was awarded a State Level Recognition by the Foundation for Music Education in the “Mark of Excellence/National Wind Band Honors Project.” The award is based on the Wind Ensemble’s playing at the 2012 Performance Assessment, which was held in March. The performance was considered to be of high quality and worthy of recognition. Nationwide, 184 bands, orchestras and choirs entered their performances this year so it is a true honor for CVHS Wind Ensemble to be recognized.
Amanda Karstetter, from Centreville, will join the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences Ambassador Program. Students are selected to join the team each spring through a competitive application process. Karstetter, a junior majoring in humanities, science and enviornment and English in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, volunteers with a faculty member for a minimum of two hours a week and volunteers for other various events hosted by the college. Ambassadors work closely with faculty, staff, parents, and alumni to expand the college’s outreach.
Walter Ambrose III, of Centreville, recently graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design. Ambrose earned a BFA degree in Film.
Deborah Yoon, from Clifton, will join the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences Ambassador Program. Students are selected to join the team each spring through a competitive application process. Yoon, a junior majoring in communication and human development in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, volunteers with a faculty member for a minimum of two hours a week and volunteers for other various events hosted by the college. Ambassadors work closely with faculty, staff, parents, and alumni to expand the college’s outreach.
Sai Thota, Mechanical Engineering major, from Centreville, is a freshman at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Hayley Harris and Warren Smith, from CVHS, are semifinalists in the 2013 National Achievement Scholarship program, an academic competition for Black American high school students conducted by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.
Nine doctoral students have been selected to receive the University of Kansas' prestigious Madison and Lila Self Graduate Fellowship as they begin the 2012-2013 academic year, including Blair Benson, who is studying geology, has an innate curiosity for blending geophysics and archaeology to develop noninvasive techniques for identifying and excavating archeological sites.
She spent three summers working for the National Park Service's Midwest Archeological Center, Lincoln, Neb., and has worked at several National Parks across the Midwest, including Hopewell Culture National Park, Ohio; Knife River Indian Villages, North Dakota, and Fort Scott, Nicodemus National Historic Site and Fort Larned, all in Kansas. Benson is conducting her research at KU under the guidance of George Tsoflias, associate professor of geophysics, and Rolfe Mandel, executive director of the ODYSSEY research program at the Kansas Geological Survey and professor of anthropology.
She received a Bachelor of Science in geology in 2009 from James Madison University and her master's degree in geology in 2012 from KU. She has received numerous awards including the Catherine-King Frazier Scholarship for outstanding achievement by the most promising new major and the Philip R. Cosminsky Award while at James Madison. In 2011 Benson received a National Science Foundation GK-12 Fellowship. Benson is the president of the Association for Women Geoscientists (AWG) Osage Chapter, the south-central delegate for the AWG board, and co-founder and director of the KU Geology Mentor Program. Her professional goal is to advance near-surface geophysical imaging methods for private sector and government research.
Benson is the daughter of Richard Benson and Lisa Enright and a graduate of Centreville High School.
Forty-One FCPS Students Selected for 2012 Virginia Honors Choir Vocal musicians from 14 Fairfax County public schools have been named to the Virginia Honors Choir for 2012. Three students were named alternates. The students will perform at the Virginia Music Educators Association convention Nov. 17 at the Homestead in Hot Springs. The following students were selected for the 2012 Virginia Honors Choir from Centreville High School: Daniel Cabrejos, Nathanael Kim, Rachel Knutti, and Luke Wilbur.
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) student publications earned high marks from the Virginia High School League’s (VHSL) publications evaluation services. Publications evaluated were from the 2011-12 school year.
Earning top marks in the Trophy Class were (adviser’s names are in parentheses):
Newspaper Division: The Watchdog, Westfield High School (Anthony Whitten).
Yearbook Division: The Guardian, Westfield High School (Anthony Whitten).
The following publications earned first place recognition:
Magazine Division: Calliope, Westfield High School (Todd Kelly);
Yearbook Division: The Legend, Centreville High School (Melissa Rife)
Brendan English of Centreville was recently inducted into James Madison University's chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma, an international honor society for business students. English is on track to graduate in May 2014 with a degree in economics.