Schools
Whiz Kid: Liz Demetrides
Whiz Kid is a weekly column highlighting a high-achieving local youngster!
Elizabeth Demetrides is way too modest for a kid who got 1,600 on her SATs.
“I haven’t actually won anything yet,” she insisted. Elizabeth, or Liz, is a 2011 candidate for the Presidential Scholars Program, one of only 40 students in the state and 3,000 in the country. She was awarded the candidacy based on her exceptional SAT scores.
“They only looked at math and reading scores,” said Liz, a senior at . “I just took thousands of practice tests.”
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Apparently the practice paid off, since excluding the new writing component of the SATs, a 1,600 is a perfect score.
The Presidential Scholars is a national recognition program administered by the U.S. Department of Education. After inviting 3,000 candidates, including Liz, the Commission on Presidential Scholars will whittle down the list based upon the candidates’ essays and teacher recommendations. The final 141 Presidential Scholars will be announced in May. The finalists will be awarded the Presidential Medallion in June at a White House-sponsored event in Washington, D.C.
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Candidates can also be nominated for significant artistic talent. After the 3,000 candidates are chosen for their SAT scores, an additional 60 are nominated “through the nationwide Arts Recognition and Talent Search conducted by the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts,” according to the Baltimore County Public Schools website.
“I actually had no idea about the program until I got the letter,” said Liz.
Her mother was equally taken by surprise. "All of a sudden we just got a letter in the mail that she made the list,” said Liz’s mom, Theano Demetrides of Cockeysville.
Liz said she hopes to attend Dartmouth College and major in mathematics and physics.
Osman Ulug of Halethorpe, a senior at Western School of Technology, is the other Baltimore County Public Schools student to have been awarded candidacy.
Also from the area, some more Presidental Scholar candidates are:
- Richard Van Besien of Lutherville, attending The Park School of Baltimore
- Isaiah Sampson of Towson, attending Calvert Hall College
- Dana Katzenelson of Owings Mills, attending Baltimore Polytechnic Institute
- Gabriel Baraban of Baltimore, attending Shoshana Cardin Jewish Community High School
A sincere congratulations to all of them!
