Dozens of Mound Westonka H.S. Students Earn AP Scholar Awards

Forty-nine students at Mound Westonka High School have earned AP Scholar Awards in recognition of their exceptional achievement on AP Exams in last school year.

The College Board’s Advanced Placement Program (AP) provides motivated and academically prepared students with the opportunity to take rigorous college-level courses while still in high school, and to earn college credit, advanced placement or both for successful performance on the AP Exams. The College Board recognizes several levels of achievement based on students’ performance on AP Exams.

At Mound Westonka High School
Twelve students qualified for the AP Scholar with Distinction Award by earning an average score of at least 3.5 of all AP Exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams. The AP Scholars with Distinction are current seniors Matthew Hejna, Mackenzie Strehle and Kathryn Wetherille, and 2013 MWHS graduates Daniel Humbert, Matthew Kangas, Jacob Leech, Callie Mack, Katelyn Nelson, Emily Ruud, Monica Shukle, Grette Treat and Josef Vertnik.

Nine students qualified for the AP Scholar with Honor Award by earning an average score of at least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams. The AP Scholars with Honor are seniors John Byers, Derek Fuhrmann, Katherine Linder, Emily Minzel, Alexander Robbins and Arend Turner, and 2013 graduates Alecsander Lee, Brenna Mack and Kelly O’Brien.

Twenty-eight students qualified for the AP Scholar Award by receiving scores of 3 or higher on three or more AP Exams. The AP Scholars are seniors Hanna Brustad, Lily Frenette, Erin Haug, John Leschisin, Tynan O’Hara, Kole Retterath and Hunter Smith, and 2013 graduates Hannah Berg, Adam Brandt, Charles Buettner, Elliott Bussey, Kaitlyn Eikenberry, Jennifer Golden, Ellen Hammerschmidt, Tyler Hebig, Matthew Hildebrandt, Lynsey Ihli, Naomi Jackson, Mervin Moorhead, Grant Nagel, Benjamin O’Borsky, Grant Piepkorn, Grace Polusny, Joseph Roehrig, Ashley Rosenberg, Marilee Saatzer, Paige Sheeran and John Sotirin.

Through more than 30 different college-level courses and exams, AP provides motivated and academically prepared students with the opportunity to earn college credit or advanced placement and stand out in the college admissions process. AP is accepted by more than 3,800 colleges and universities worldwide for college credit, advanced placement, or both on the basis of successful AP Exam grades. Research consistently shows that AP students who score a 3 or higher on AP Exams (based on a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest) typically experience greater academic success in college and higher graduation rates than students who do not participate in AP.

In 2012, the Westonka School District was named to the College Board’s AP District Honor Roll. Westonka earned this recognition for simultaneously increasing access to AP coursework while also increasing the percentage of students earning scores of 3 or higher on AP Exams. Achieving both of these goals is the ideal scenario for a district’s AP program because it indicates that the district is successfully identifying motivated, academically prepared students who are likely to benefit most from rigorous AP coursework.

About the College Board
The College Board is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to connect students to college success and opportunity. Among its best-known programs are the SAT, the PSAT/NMSQT and the Advanced Placement Program (AP).