Watertown High School Celebrates Students Awarded with Academic Honors from College Board National Recognition Program
Program recognizes over 90,000 high-performing students to help open opportunities for their future.
Watertown, CT – Students at Watertown High School earned academic honors from the College Board National Recognition Program. The programs celebrate the hard work of thousands of high school students nationwide to help them showcase their strong academic performance.
For the first time, the academic honors recognize first-generation students, in addition to rural and small town, Black, Indigenous, and Hispanic/or Latino students. The program opens college access for more students because many institutions use the awards for their recruitment efforts.
Student Name |
Laysha Abikarram |
Malia Arline |
Carmen DeSousa |
Lola Gaudino |
Genti Hodja |
Lukas Longo |
Emily Whelton |
Olivia Williams |
"Celebrating our students' academic accomplishments is always a wonderful occasion. We take pride in their outstanding performance both in the classroom and on College Board assessments, such as the PSAT/NMSQT®, PSAT™ 10, and AP® Exams," stated Gianni Perugini, principal of the school. "Our students' unique qualities are truly remarkable, and this recognition further highlights their individuality and achievements as valuable assets for their future success."
Eligible students must meet the following criteria to qualify:
Earn a GPA of B+ (equal to at least 3.3 or 87%-89%) 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 by the end of 10th grade.
Attend school in a rural area or small town, or identify as African American/Black, Hispanic American/Latino, Indigenous/Native American, or a first-generation college student.
The program expanded this year to include a fifth award. Over 35,000 students nationwide received the inaugural National First-Generation Recognition Program Award.
Every year, students can verify their eligibility on BigFuture® during their sophomore or junior year. At the start of the next school year, students receive their awards for their communities to celebrate them and colleges to recruit them as they head back to school for their junior or senior year. Thousands of nonprofit colleges and organizations using College Board’s Student Search Service™ can connect with awardees during the recruitment process to share more about their postsecondary programs.
“This year, the National Recognition Programs are recognizing more students than ever so that the outstanding academic abilities of more than 90,000 deserving students are not overlooked as they plan for their future,” said Amy Reitz, senior vice president of BigFuture at College Board. “We’re proud to support colleges and universities that are committed to supporting all students, and our program offers one way they can strengthen their recruitment efforts to students that will thrive on their campus.”