Awards recognize high-performing students and help them stand out to colleges

Aracely Calderon from The Dalton Academy earned academic honors from the College Board National Recognition Programs. These programs celebrate students' hard work in high school and showcase their strong academic performance. The academic honors for rural area, Black, Indigenous, and/or Latino students are an opportunity for students to share their strong academic achievements with colleges and scholarship programs that are seeking to recruit diverse talent. 

At The Dalton Academy, Aracely received the National Hispanic Recognition Award. As a member of the AP Capstone Diploma Program at TDA, Calderon said she believes her participation in the program will provide increased opportunities for her after she completes high school.  

“I like the opportunities that this opens up for me,” Calderon said. “Especially with colleges, winning this award puts your name out there. It is a lot of work, but I think it will be worth it in the end.”

Calederon said she hopes to attend Emory University or Georgia Tech after she graduates from The Dalton Academy. 

The administration and staff members at TDA are extremely proud of Calderon’s achievements.  

“We are incredibly proud of our Aracely’s achievement,” said Matt Mederios, principal of The Dalton Academy. “She has challenged herself by enrolling in AP courses and pursuing the AP Capstone Diploma, and she is excelling. Attaining this recognition is a testament to her dedication and commitment to her academic studies and her teachers’ dedication to providing rigorous instruction with high expectations in the classroom each and every day.” 

"I am so proud of Aracely and her accomplishments, although I am not surprised in the least,” said Cindy Wiggins, AP teacher at The Dalton Academy. “Aracely is an exceptional student with high standards, high expectations of herself, and a wonderful representative for The Dalton Academy and Dalton Public Schools."

The criteria for eligible students include:

• GPA of 3.5 or higher.
• PSAT/NMSQT or PSAT 10 assessment scores that are within the top 10% of assessment takers in each state for each award program or earned a score of 3 or higher on 2 or more AP Exams in 9th and 10th grade.
• Attend school in a rural area or small town, or identify as African American/Black, Hispanic American/Latino, or Indigenous/Native.

Eligible students are invited to apply on BigFuture during their sophomore or junior year and are awarded at the start of the next school year in time to share their achievements in high school as they plan for the future. At the same time, colleges and organizations using College Board’s Student Search Service™ can connect directly with awardees during the recruitment process.

“It’s becoming increasingly hard for students to be ‘seen’ during the college recruitment process. We’re exceptionally proud of the National Recognition Programs for celebrating students who are at times overlooked but have shown their outstanding academic abilities,” said Tarlin Ray, senior vice president of BigFuture® at College Board. “This is a benefit not only for students but also for colleges and universities committed to recruiting diverse and talented students.”