2 area students named Presidential Scholar semifinalists

Two high school students from Northeast Wisconsin have been named semifinalists for the 2012 Presidential Scholars award.

The state Department of Public Instruction announced that Eric M. Johnson of Bay Port High School and David K. Sehloff of Fox Valley Lutheran High School are among 10 semifinalists in Wisconsin. There are about 550 nationwide.

Organizers say around 3,300 students were identified as candidates for the program based on exceptional performance on the ACT or SAT college admissions tests. About 60 students are nominated through their participation in the YoungARTS program, sponsored by the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts. Candidates are invited to complete application materials that include essays, self-assessments, secondary school reports and transcripts. An independent national committee of educators convened by the Commission on Presidential Scholars reviews application materials to select semifinalists.

The Commission on Presidential Scholars will then make the final selection of the nation's 121 academic Presidential Scholars - one male and one female from each state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and from families of U.S. citizens living in other countries. As many as 15 students may also be chosen at large. The Presidential Scholars Commission also chooses up to 20 Presidential Scholars in the Arts for a total of up to 141 Presidential Scholars.

Students chosen as Presidential Scholars will travel to Washington, D.C., in June, where they will meet with government officials, educators, authors, musicians, and scientists. They also will receive a Presidential Scholars medallion at a ceremony sponsored by the White House. Scholars are asked to identify one teacher who was most influential in their education. The teacher also is invited to the nation's capital for National Recognition Week and receives the Presidential Scholars program Teacher Recognition Award.

The Presidential Scholars program began in 1964.