OKLAHOMA CITY — Two Elgin High School students are among the recipients of the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence’s 2023 Academic All-State Awards.
Sophia Montoya and Benjamin Roberts, along with other award winners, will be recognized at the foundation’s Academic Awards Banquet, set for May 20 at the Cox Business Convention Center in Tulsa. The winners will each receive a $1,500 merit-based cash award, an honor cord and a medallion.
The Academic Awards Banquet is open to the public, with admission priced at $65. Registration will open online April 3 at www.ofe.org.
The awards ceremony will also be available for viewing on the foundation’s website following the event. For more information, call the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence office at (405) 236-0006.
The Academic All-State program recognizes the state’s 100 top public high school seniors, the foundation said in a news release. Award recipients, who are selected from hundreds of applications statewide, hail from 75 schools in 68 school districts.
The 2023 Academic All-State class is the 37th to be selected by the foundation, according to the news release. Since the award program’s inception in 1987, some 3,700 high school seniors from 335 school districts have been named Academic All-State scholars.
Foundation President Andrew J. Morris described the selection of the scholars as “Oklahoma’s most rigorous academic awards selection process.”
To be eligible for Academic All-State, students must meet one of the following criteria: an American College Test composite score of at least 30; a combined SAT evidence-based reading and writing and math score of at least 1370; or selection as a semifinalist for a National Merit Scholarship.
This year’s All-Staters scored an average of 33 on the ACT, with six recipients scoring a perfect 36. The students’ average GPA was 4.25. In addition, 29 of this year’s All-Staters are National Merit semifinalists.
Academic All-Staters are selected based on academic achievement, extracurricular activities and community involvement, as well as letters of recommendation and an essay submitted by each applicant. The selection committee, which is chaired by retired educator Jan McClaren, works independently of all other foundation activities. The committee members are a diverse group of business, education, and civic leaders, as well as past Academic Awards Program honorees.
“The Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence Academic Awards Program is Oklahoma’s premiere awards program honoring academic achievement, innovation and leadership among students and educators in our public schools,” said the foundation’s executive director, Elizabeth Inbody. “By working together to give outstanding students and educators the recognition they deserve, we send a strong message to our state and to the nation that Oklahomans value academic excellence.”