Top high school seniors: superstudents excel in class and out

Ebony, July, 1996 by Lisa Jones Townsel

IN an age of broken homes and broken dreams, a new generation of Black youths is prepared and determined to make a difference. Among the leaders in this new generation are top academic aces and community-minded young adults, including National Honor Society members, National Achievement scholars, valedictorians, a national chess champion and a top SAT (Scholastic Assessment Test) scorer. Many students have received national book awards and top honors in mathematics, the sciences, the arts and sports. And almost all of these scholars have demonstrated their deep commitment to community by donating time to local charities, community centers, churches, youth programs and senior citizen organizations.

Despite economic or environmental limitations, the 1996 Top High School Seniors featured here remain focused on achieving multifaceted goals. While climbing corporate ladders interests some students, others would rather build their own ladders in influential businesses of their own. Future pediatric surgeons appear in this group as well as future engineers, professors, attorneys, business magnates, U.S. Supreme Court justices and senators.

This ambitious group of hard-working students has amassed unprecedented millions in scholarship funds, enabling many to make the leap from high school to the higher learning institutions of their choice. And this fall, they will explore even more opportunities and challenges on historically Black and historically White college campuses across America.

As in previous years, a panel of editors and educational advisors selected the students from a larger group that was nominated by a panel of school board officials. The selections were based on academics, community involvement and leadership potential. The final selections were made on the basis of grade point averages, community service' leadership and various awards and commendations.

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After taking the SAT, the standardized test most colleges require for admission, Sklar Byrd of Washington, D.C.'s Benjamin Banneker Academic High School, then a junior, experienced the anxiety many students endure before finding out their test results. But while some of her classmates held their breath simply hoping to pass the test, Byrd, who knew she had passed, wondered about the questions she missed. "I knew I missed a few," says the soft-spoken 17-year old senior, who maintains a 3.88 GPA and ranks fourth in her class. According to the College Board, students can answer a few questions incorrectly and still get the top score. In fact, Byrd missed three and scored a perfect 1,600--a feat that fewer then 1 percent of the 1.8 million students who take the exam each year manage to accomplish. Yet Byrd doesn't brag about her ability. "I usually don't talk about [the SAT score] because I want people to like me for me, not for a test score," she says. Byrd hasn't decided whether she'll attend Harvard or Dartmouth this fall, but one thing is certain: Her knowledge will continually be tested. But that's no problem, says the National Merit/National Achievement finalist, "because I place pretty high expectations on myself, too."

RELATED ARTICLES: NATIONAL CHESS CHAMP

While most preschoolers were learning to recite their ABCs, 3-year-old Shearwood (Woody) McCllelland III studied classical piano. While most of his buddies played hide-and-seek, McClelland, then 7, chased after another dream: checkmating his fellow chess opponents. A decade or so later, the child prodigy was crowned an All-American chess contender. Today, at age 18, the National Achievement scholar, who maintains a 4.1 GPA at Teaneck (N.J.) High School, is the national 12th grade chess champion and the highest-ranked Black player for his age group. McClelland, who also won the national title as an 11th grader, admits that it took at lot of work and patience to get where he is today in the brain-twisting world of chess. Nevertheless, he only wants to go so far in the field. "In terms of chess, I just want to play the best I can," he says. "I've made national master. Hopefully, I can become a senior master. But I really don't have any aspirations to become a grand master because you really have to turn professional, and I'm more concerned about my [education]." The aspiring pediatric surgeon plans to attend Harvard University and major in biochemistry.