AWARDS/HONORS

Fayette County Public Schools took seven of the top 10 spots in the nationwide 2012 World Fit Walk, which emphasized the importance of lifelong fitness and the Olympic values of perseverance, respect and fair play.

The goal of World Fit is to track participants' walking distances and other physical activity over 40 days, with results tallied as miles per student per day. In 2010, Beaumont and Winburn were part of World Fit's national pilot. Seven Fayette County middle schools participated last year, and 11 of 12 were on board this spring as the program gained momentum.

Lexington's Winburn Middle School came in first in the large-school division (more than 500 students), averaging 8.6 miles per student per day and logging a total of 215,280 miles during this spring's six-week challenge. Southern Middle School was runner-up, averaging 7.3 miles per student per day, totaling 191,271 miles.

Morton finished third with 6.8 miles, and Beaumont tied for fourth with 3.8 miles. Jessie Clark, in eighth place, logged 2.9 miles per student per day, while Lexington Traditional Magnet, in ninth place, logged 2.4 miles. Leestown Middle School rounded out the nation's Top 10, with 1.7 miles per student per day. Tates Creek and Bryan Station Middle schools came in 11th and 12th, respectively. In the small-schools division (less than 500 students), SCAPA at Bluegrass tied at No. 20 and Crawford tied for 28th.

 Buck Ryan, director of the Citizen Kentucky Project of the University of Kentucky's Scripps Howard First Amendment Center and associate professor at the University of Kentucky, was honored as one of the Top 50 journalism professors of the year by the national Web site JournalismDegree.org. Earlier, Ryan was inducted into the Nu Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa, the National Leadership Honor Society at UK.

 Break Away: Alternative Break Connection Inc., a national non-profit organization with a mission to "train, assist and connect campuses and communities in promoting quality alternative break programs that inspire lifelong active citizenship," has named UK student Katelyn McNamara as the winner of its 2012 National Alternative Breaks Action Citizen of the Year Award.

McNamara, a UK Honors Program student who is pursuing a double major in Hispanic Studies and topical studies in neuroscience, first became involved with UK's alternative break program in 2010, as an assistant to the special events coordinator. She has participated in an alternative break trip to Jaibon, Dominican Republic, and has plans to participate in two additional alternative break trips to Santo Domingo, Ecuador, and to Nicaragua.

 University of Louisville student Jonathan Sevy of Midway has received a Critical Language Scholarship to study in China.

Sevy, who is an accounting major at U of L's College of Business, will work on his mastery of Chinese language through an intensive summer program funded by the U.S. Department of State. The scholarship was created to expand the number of Americans studying critical-need foreign languages.

Sevy, who plans to graduate in December, has minors in international business and Chinese studies.

He has studied in Germany at the European Business School near Frankfurt and spent the past two summers at the Beijing Foreign Studies University in China. Before attending U of L, Sevy was a Hallmark scholar, a KyCPA scholar and a Dean's scholar.

He is the son of Danny and Gayle Sevy of Midway.

 Student Casey Ren has chosen to forgo her senior year at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School to participate in the prestigious Resident Honors Program at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. She is one of 15 students from around the country selected for this highly competitive early-entrance program.

Casey, who has been awarded a Presidential Scholarship from USC, will enroll in the Thematic Option Program, an interdisciplinary honors track widely recognized as one of the nation's finest. In addition, she will begin her major studies in biological sciences.

At Dunbar, Casey was enrolled in the school's Math, Science and Technology Center. She also was a member of the varsity swim team, Student Council and Beta Club. In addition, she participated in the Kentucky Young Researchers Program, where she studied the correlation between diabetes and Alzheimer's disease.

Casey is the daughter of Ning and Haiping Ren of Lexington.

 Five rising Tates Creek High School seniors excelled at the Future Problem Solving Program International conference June 7-10 at the University of Indiana.

Lindsey Bell teamed with students from three other states to capture first-place honors in the multi-affiliate contest. Meanwhile, Tates Creek schoolmates Rachel Dixon, Richie Simpson, Jessica Richardson and Abby Mrvos placed fourth in the senior division competing against teams from more than 40 states and a dozen countries.

The students were asked to analyze problems concerning pharmacogenetics — using a patient's genetic profile for personalized medicine — and to create an action plan targeting the key issues. Tates Creek focused on accelerating the regulatory approval process and presented research on a method of testing new medications before introducing them into the population.

The team is coached by Kristina Trimble, and all five students are part of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme at Tates Creek.

In addition to Tates Creek, students from Paul Laurence Dunbar High School participated in this year's competition.

 The Governor's Scholars Program has invited 56 rising seniors in Fayette County Public Schools to participate in the summer 2012 sessions.

Established in 1983, the free five-week program provides academic and personal growth through a balance of strong liberal arts offerings and a full co-curricular and residential life experience at Bellarmine University, Centre College or Murray State University.

The first class of scholars numbered 230; the program has since grown to more than 1,000 students each year. All subjects are taught in a non-traditional, interdisciplinary mode. Scientists, writers and thinkers and business, government and education leaders visit, speak and serve as role models, while student productions, publications, experiments and field trips enhance the curriculum.

2012 Governor's Scholars from Fayette County Public Schools:

From Bryan Station High School: Mary Kathryn Ball, Rebecca Clay Edwins, Meredith Corbin Rawlings and Adrian James Scaife.

From Paul Laurence Dunbar: Sarah Elizabeth Bush, Nicholas Michael DiMeo, Dustin Dean Doss, Deborah Lynn Ferguson, Abigail Rosamond Florence, Brent Michael Harney, Joseph Ross Ungar Natter, Rebecca Alice Schladt, Hussain Ahmad Siddiqi, Maria Lynn Wang, Hasanki Madara Warnakula, Leia Nicole Wedlund and Mike G. Yang.

From Henry Clay High School: Philip Barrett Block, Olivia Erin Cottrell, Abraham Ward Dutch, Macy Lauren Early, Amanda Jane Hickey, Justin Chung Leung Hui, Augustus Cook Logsdon, Julia Marie McCorvey, Ember Page Moran, Dylan Peter Sarkisian, Cullen MacLean Smith and Wei Yang.

From Lafayette High School: Lewis Christopher Aldridge, Benjamin Thomas Armbruster, Mary Jacqueline Freeman, Denise Michelle Henault, Sarah Julia Rodrigue, Abigail Kathleen Tikhtman and William Jefferson Troske.

From Tates Creek High School: Evan Gregory Adams, Jazmen Alesha Conner, Kristen Nicole Craig, Sarah Ann Czarnecki, Tatiyana Cheyenne Dean, Rachel Elise Dixon, Alexander Fowles Gray, Matthew Allen Hall, Nia Elisabeth Johnson, Jillian Lea Marks, Sydney Ivy-Nicole Meaux, Abigail Moriah Mrvos, Jade Lauren Robinson, Richard Keith Simpson, Elaine Lynn Simpson, Chalfont Kloecker Slagel, Jaletha Fiona Smoak, Sydney Rochelle Winchester, Kellie Ann Wysock and Victoria Ann Zachman.

 Blue Grass Community Foundation has announced the recipients of its Emma E. Buckley Scholarship for the 2012-2013 academic year. This year's recipients are Robert Abney, Tates Creek High School; Seham Ali Aldabbagh, Paul Laurence Dunbar High School; Nadine Almasri, Dunbar; Amal Belarbi, Tates Creek; Melissa Boyle, Bryan Station High School; Forrest Broussard, Lexington Catholic High School; John Carroll, Tates Creek; Kameren Clark, Tates Creek; Destiny Commodore, Tates Creek; Deshay Marie Jones, Henry Clay High School; Huy Tran, Tates Creek; Brian Williams, Dunbar.

This scholarship was established through a bequest by longtime Kentucky philanthropist Emma E. Buckley. The Buckley Scholarship provides a one-time award of $1,000 to $3,000 to deserving students who are graduating from high school in Fayette or Woodford county.

 Four Kentucky high school students were recognized during the boys' Sweet Sixteen basketball tournament at Rupp Arena by Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes for winning the 22nd annual secretary of state's essay contest, which encourages teens to be active and informed citizens.

The winners are Matthew Stephen Smith, Estill County High School; Kaylee Robin Hicks, Woodford County High School; William Haydon, Montgomery County High School; and William Eliot Smith, Henry Clay High School.

In this year's competition, students were invited to discuss government regulation of free speech in the context of elections. Each winner received $1,500.

 The Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky, located at Western Kentucky University, has announced its class of 2014. These area students will be part of the class of 50 and will complete their junior and senior years living in Schneider Hall and taking courses at WKU, graduating with at least 60 college credit hours: Andrew Hughes, Bath County High School; Daniel Wei, Danville High School; D.J. Richardson, George Rogers Clark High School; Carolyn Clark, Henry Clay High School; Aline Irihamye, Paul Laurence Dunbar High School; Connor VanMeter, Paul Laurence Dunbar High School; Noah Dixon, West Jessamine High School; Vishnu Tirumala, Corbin High School.

The Gatton Academy is Kentucky's only state-supported, residential program for high school students with interests in advanced science and math careers and one of 15 such programs in the country.

In 2011, Newsweek magazine ranked the Gatton Academy as one of the nation's top five public high schools.