BC News

Presidental Scholar nomination a fitting end to an extraordinary high school career

Release Date: April 7, 2009

You could say that BC High School senior Dana Niu has been busy.

She is an accomplished cellist who has spent hundreds of hours practicing and performing in the school’s string quartet, symphony orchestra and in the Empire State Youth Orchestra. In the Spring of 2008, she participated in a performance tour in Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic. 

She’s also the president of the BC Environmental club, a member of the Varsity Tennis Team, president of Key Club and a member of the Pit Orchestra for this year’s musical. She’s managed to maintain a GPA of 98 even while she takes senior courses such as Calculus 3, Linear Algebra, AP Physics, AP Statistics, AP English and AP Economics, to mention a few. 

And, she scored a perfect five on all of her Advanced Placement examinations. 

Oh, and there’s also the perfect score on every SAT test Ms. Niu has taken — 1600 on the SAT I and 800s on each of three SAT II subject tests (Chemistry, Math Level II and World History).  
And, she scored a 100 on six of the New York State Regents Exams. 

Did we mention that she is a National Merit Finalist? 

“While her test scores and achievements are otherworldly, Dana’s most endearing characteristic is her humble, friendly and unassuming demeanor,” says her school counselor, Scott Carlton. “She simply doesn’t get too excited about her accomplishments.”

Ever modest, Ms. Niu did not even tell her friends about the SAT feat. “In the end, they’re just test scores,” she said.

Ms. Niu recently learned that she had been nominated for the 2009 Presidential Scholars Program, one of the most prestigious accolades for a high school senior in the United States. Up to 141 students from across the country are typically chosen out of a few thousand nominees for the program.

The Presidential Scholars Program was initiated in 1964 by the executive order of President Lyndon B. Johnson as a means to not only recognize the nation’s most distinguished scholars, but also to provide an experience that helps shape the country’s future leaders. The scholars travel to Washington D.C. in June as guests of the program for a week of seminars, lectures and workshops with some of the best minds in the fields of government, education, science and the arts. The week culminates in a White House-sponsored event at which the Scholars are awarded the Presidential Medallion.

The detailed application for the presidential scholars program included six essay questions on a variety of topics. As Ms. Niu awaits word on the outcome – and ponders the possibility of being in the first class of scholars to meet President Barack Obama –she is also waiting to hear about some other applications she’s recently filed. Her sights are set on some of the finest colleges in the country.

While she won’t know for several weeks where she will be next fall, Ms. Niu has thought about what she might study when she gets there. A daughter of Chinese natives – and fluent in Mandarin herself –she has watched China’s economy and its relationship with the world develop from both near and far in her lifetime. The environmental impact and geopolitical implications of China’s rise help explain Ms. Niu’s interest in possibly studying environmental sciences or international relations. She is also considering math and physics.

Ms. Niu expects to continue music lessons in college and would like to play an intramural sport such badminton or tennis.

Mr. Carlton said that her accomplishments are all the more impressive when one considers her success in such a wide variety of academic subjects and activities in the BCHS community and beyond. “I’m going to quit my job and go work for her as soon as she graduates from college,” quips Mr. Carlton.
Some days, her regular school schedule was followed by a tennis practice or match, Chinese School and orchestra rehearsal. When she finished all that, she still had to study before recharging for the next day. She attributes her success to the support of her parents and her own time management skills.

“There were some late nights,” Ms. Niu said. “I have been busy.”

 

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