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Journal-World 2020 Academic All-Stars

Every year since 1997, the Journal-World has invited administrators and counselors from public and private high schools in the Lawrence area to nominate their most outstanding seniors for the Journal-World’s Academic All-Star team.

As in previous years, a panel of three judges reviewed applications for the award and $500 scholarship. The top 12 All-Stars were chosen based on their strong academics, extracurricular involvement and essays. The honor is meant to recognize some of the most promising area high school seniors.

This year, Trevor Arellano of Lawrence High was selected as the winner. Here are the 11 runners-up for the class of 2020, along with some accomplishments, aspirations and some items of note, as taken from their application materials.

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Jacob Deay

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Jacob Deay

School: Veritas Christian School

Parents: Amy and Clint Deay

Highlighted accomplishments: Earned blue, red and white ribbons for entries of corn and soybeans in the Vinland Fair all four years of high school; wrote a 30-page thesis on the role of genetically modified organisms in modern agriculture

Aspirations: Deay plans to attend Kansas State University’s College of Agriculture to study agribusiness or agricultural finance. He hopes to work for an agricultural business while operating his own farm on the side.

Of note: Along with attending Eudora Baptist Church, Deay has also helped organize prayer meetings with his classmates the past two summers. He wrote in his application that switching from home school to Veritas Christian School was “the most impactful event” in his life.

“There I have made strong, true friendships that will last a lifetime,” he wrote. “Veritas has also facilitated growth in my walk with Christ and helped to prepare me to live out and defend my faith upon graduation from high school.”

Alaina Flory

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Alaina Flory

School: Baldwin High School

Parents: Abbie and Jeff Flory

Highlighted accomplishments: Kansas Honor Scholar; honor roll all four years; Future Business Leaders of America all four years, serving as president in 2019-2020; National Honor Society junior and senior years, serving as vice president in 2019-2020.

Aspirations: Flory has been accepted into numerous universities, but had not made a decision on where to attend at the time of her application. She plans to study biochemistry and wants to eventually earn a doctorate to pursue a career in biochemical research.

Of note: Flory wrote that she tries to live her life by recognizing the small things that often go unnoticed, a lesson she learned after a close friend of hers died in a car wreck in middle school. The tragic experience was important in her growth and made her “face the harsh reality of life and death.”

She wrote that she tries to keep her friend’s memory alive by “spreading the laughter, kindness, and generosity that she shared every day.”

Dorothy Haggard

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Dorothy Haggard

School: Perry-Lecompton High School

Parents: Calla and Kelly Haggard

Highlighted accomplishments: Honor roll all four years of high school; participated in scholars’ bowl for freshman, sophomore and junior years; more than 200 hours of volunteer service at various institutions.

Aspirations: Haggard plans to attend the University of Kansas to study chemical engineering with a minor in Spanish, with the goal of becoming an engineer “for a large company.”

Of note: Haggard wrote that she has always been inspired by her mother’s work ethic, noting that her mother would work close to 12 hours a day and still find time in the early morning to play racquetball.

“Through seeing all of this, it has made me realize that if you want something in life you need to work hard to acquire it,” Haggard wrote.

Faith Hedges

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Faith Hedges

School: Bishop Seabury Academy

Parents: Laura and Bryan Hedges

Highlighted accomplishments: National Merit Commendation Student, senior year; Kansas Honor Scholar, senior year; Smith College Book Award, junior year; Spanish Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Languages Exam Summa Cum Laude, junior year; AMC 10 School Math Competition, first place, sophomore year.

Aspirations: Hedges was keeping her options open at the time of her application, but she noted that she has earned the opportunity to study electrical engineering and computer science through the University of Kansas honors program.

Of note: Hedges credits the game of golf for making her a mentally tough and determined person. In her application, she detailed a tournament she participated in last summer. She played two rounds and rallied from behind to win the tournament in a playoff, spending 10 hours on the course and playing 39 holes.

“When I look back at my first golf tournament years ago, I see how far I’ve come, considering how impossible the game seemed at the time,” Hedges wrote. “I can apply the dedication that I learned from golf to anything in my life today.”

Julia Holder

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Julia Holder

School: Free State High School

Parents: Kristina and Mark Holder

Highlighted accomplishments: National Merit Commended Scholar; AP Scholar with Distinction; National Honor Society, junior and senior years; earned the highest regional score on the Chemistry Olympiad junior year.

Aspirations: Holder plans to attend Columbia University in New York City to study biology and mathematics, with the goal of eventually earning a doctorate degree and working in research.

Of note: Holder spent her seventh-grade year in Heidelberg, Germany, an opportunity she was “ecstatic” about. But the beginning of her time in Germany was difficult because she couldn’t fully understand the language, she wrote. Despite that, she eventually learned to adapt to her new surroundings and grow as a person.

“In adapting to an unfamiliar environment, stepping outside of my previous world, I became more competent, conscientious, and willing to try things that make me feel awkward and self-conscious,” she wrote. “That year was my least comfortable, most transformative, and most eye-opening experience thus far.”

Emily Howard

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Emily Howard

School: Eudora High School

Parents: Melissa and Mike Howard

Highlighted accomplishments: Scholars’ bowl league champion; Kansas Scholar; Kansas Honor Scholar; Kansas Governor’s Scholar; Future Business Leaders of America all four years, serving as state secretary; National Honor Society junior and senior years, serving as president.

Aspirations: Howard was undecided between attending Kansas State University and Baylor University in Waco, Texas, at the time of her application. She plans to study accounting and Spanish, with the goal of working for a major accounting firm.

Of note: Howard credits many people for inspiring her and helping her become the person she is, including her family members, teacher MaryJo Swann and school counselor Deanna Brown. She wrote that each one taught her valuable lessons in her life so far.

“Without every single person listed above and many more, I don’t know who I’d be today,” she wrote. “No matter what I know I wouldn’t trade any of these people for the world.”

Den Jackson

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Den Jackson

School: Veritas Christian School

Parents: Rebecca and Tony Jackson

Highlighted accomplishments: Honor roll all three years at Veritas (was homeschooled freshman year); student council class representative senior year; volunteered at DCCCA for three years.

Aspirations: Jackson plans to attend Kansas State University to study statistics and mathematics.

Of note: Jackson learned to love reading because of his mother, he wrote in his application. She encouraged him to read “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” in first grade and “The Odyssey” in third grade. He also noted she gives him helpful advice and often lets him know how much she loves and cares for him.

“She is so incredibly loving and self-sacrificial towards me and my three siblings, I couldn’t imagine having a better mom,” Jackson wrote.

Shelby Jones

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Shelby Jones

School: Baldwin High School

Parents: Christina and Justin Jones

Highlighted accomplishments: National Center for Women and Information Technology award for Aspirations in Computing all four years; National Merit Commended Scholar; Future Business Leaders of America; National Honor Society; Link Crew; scholars’ bowl.

Aspirations: Jones was undecided on where she was going to go for college at the time of her application, but she plans to study computer engineering with the goal of someday working for NASA.

Of note: When Jones switched to attending Baldwin High after spending years of her education at the Lawrence Virtual School, she said she struggled with the change at first. But she eventually found a group of friends and now considers the switch the best decision she’s ever made.

“I am super involved in clubs and activities that I genuinely enjoy being a part of, and have a great group of friends,” she wrote.

Katie Kuglin

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Katie Kuglin

School: McLouth High School

Parents: Jenny and Troy Kuglin

Highlighted accomplishments: Honor roll all four years; Kansas Honor Scholar; Future Business Leaders of America all four years; forensics all four years; scholars’ bowl all four years; class president sophomore, junior and senior years; student council vice president senior year

Aspirations: Kuglin plans to attend the Honors College at Fort Hays State University through the university’s Regent Scholarship. She wrote that she was unsure what to study at the time of her application, but she was leaning toward education.

Of note: Before visiting Fort Hays in November, Kuglin said she was beginning to doubt she would attend college. She said she did not feel connections to the previous campuses she visited and began to wonder if college was for her at all.

“I didn’t go into my visit with Fort Hays expecting much, but I was blown away by how different the experience was from other visits. Everyone I met was so kind, and offered so much helpful information,” she wrote. “I felt that connection and that I truly belonged there.”

Delaney LeCluyse

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Delaney LeCluyse

School: De Soto High School

Parents: Arin and Michael LeCluyse

Highlighted accomplishments: Kansas Honor Scholar; Elberta Harris Scholarship recipient; Emporia State Presidential Scholarship recipient; Class Award; student of the month; honor roll all four years; National Honor Society; class president senior year.

Aspirations: LeCluyse plans to attend Emporia State University to study elementary education.

Of note: LeCluyse looks up to her grandmother as a role model because of the responsibilities she had as a teenager, she wrote. Her grandmother said that at 14 she began working as a waitress to help her family pay bills and also save up to pay for college. LeCluyse wrote that knowing her grandmother’s story helped her realize she could overcome the struggles she faced as well.

Noah Stussie

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Noah Stussie

School: Lawrence High School

Parents: Lori and Lawrence Stussie

Highlighted accomplishments: Kansas Governor’s Scholar; Kansas Chancellor’s Honor Scholar, sophomore and junior year; AP Scholar with Honor; Kansas State Top Scholar; valedictorian; National Honor Society junior and senior year.

Aspirations: Stussie was still deciding among several colleges, including the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the University of Kansas and Wichita State University, at the time of his application. He plans to study vocal performance.

Of note: Stussie’s participation in LHS’ production of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” during his sophomore year was transformative for him, he wrote. The success of the show and his ability to get into character boosted his confidence and ability to be himself.

“This show changed me in ways I never thought possible,” he wrote. “Today, I am much more comfortable and happy than I have ever been.”