Becher, Braswell Chosen as Presidential Scholars

The U.S. Presidential Scholars Program selected two Exonians this year, seniors Julie Becher and Leigh Marie Braswell, along with 139 other high school seniors across the country. This summer, from June 22 to June 25, Becher and Braswell will travel down to Washington D.C. to participate in the Presidential Scholars Program.

In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson established the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program to recognize and honor some of the nation’s most distinguished graduating high school seniors. 

Each year, up to 141 students are selected as Presidential Scholars, and since 1979, the program began to accept students who demonstrate exceptional talent in the arts as well.

To be qualified as a candidate of the program, students are required to receive the guideline score set by the U.S. Department of Education in the ACT or SAT. This year, over 3000 students were qualified, 500 reached the semifinals and only 141 finalists prevailed to be accepted as Presidential Scholars.

Both Becher and Braswell said that as they began to write their college applications, they were notified of their qualification as candidates.

“I thought that a chance at an awesome trip to DC, possibly even to meet the President, would be worth the cost of writing a few [more] essays,” Braswell said. 

“I was already in college essay writing mode anyway.”

Becher reflected upon her application process as well, and noted her experience of writing the personal essay, in which she wrote about her grandfather.

“For the main essay of the application, we had to write about the most meaningful person in our lives and why they were important to us,” Becher said. “I chose to write about my grandpa who served in the Korean War and was the nicest person I've ever known.”

Becher added that her grandfather, who was suffering from Alzheimer’s, unfortunately passed away before she received the acceptance email.

“I found out that he passed away just a few days before I found out that I got the presidential scholarship. It was nice to honor him that way by winning the scholarship from an essay that I wrote about him and the legacy he's left with me,” Becher said.

When they travel to the nation’s capital, the two seniors will attend a medal ceremony and a banquet at the Kennedy Center, and meet their respective state representatives and scholars. 

“I think we will also go to seminars and do community service around the city,” Becher added. “I'm most excited about getting to meet the other finalists and exploring the city. I can't wait.”

Braswell said that she was most excited to meet President Barack Obama. “I'm probably most excited about the possibility of meeting the President. After all, we are ‘Presidential’ scholars, right?”