Eight students at Mount Pleasant High School earned 13 academic honors from the College Board National Recognition Programs. The academic honors for rural area, First Generation, 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.

Students earning National First-Generation recognition include Natalia Aspeitia, Valerie Cassio, Selena Clark, Diya Desai, Jose Gonzalez, Amir Martinez, Yahaira Pina, and Hayden Tennison. Aspeitia, Cassio, and Clark also earned National Hispanic recognition with Aspeitia and Desai also garnering National Rural and Small-Town honors.

Eligible students will be invited to apply during their sophomore or junior year and will be awarded at the beginning of the next school year. Students will receive their awards in time to include them on their college and scholarship applications. Criteria for eligible students includes:

· GPA of 3.5 or higher.

· Excellent PSAT/NMSQT assessment scores or scores of 3 or higher on 2 or more AP Exams in 9th and 10th grade.

· Attend school in a rural area or small town, are First-Generation, or identify as African American/Black, Hispanic American/Latino, or Indigenous/Native.

Photo: MPHS College Board National award winners

Front row (L to R) Natalia Apeitia, Valerie Cassio, Yahaira Pina, Diya Desai

Back row (L to R) Selena Clark, Hayden Tennison, Amir Martinez, Jose Gonzalez