Yang And Swan Merit Scholarship Finalists
Chestnut Hill Academy senior Alex Yang of Ambler was among the Chestnut Hill Academy and Springside School students who advanced to Finalist standing in the National Merit Scholarship 2009 competition. A stellar student, Yang has been on the Upper School Honor Roll since 9th grade, when he was named First in Class. Last year, he was inducted into the Cum Laude Society, which recognizes academic achievement in secondary schools. He also received the Yale Book Award last year at last year’s Prize Day, which is given to a member of the junior class who has shown “intellectual promise, significant involvement in extracurricular activities, and service to the community.”
Though he is clearly a strong scholar, Yang is also actively involved in wide spectrum of arts. For the last four years he has been a leading member of the Chestnut Hill Academy-Springside School acting group, Players, with experience on both sides of the spotlight—as an actor, set builder, and elected member of the Players Board. At last year’s Prize Day, he received Honors in On-Stage Dramatics in recognition of his acting abilities. Yang also brings considerable writing talent to his drama activities. He is one of a small group of students in the area who write reviews of other students productions for Cappies, the national high school critics and awards organization. Two of his reviews have been published on the Philadelphia Inquirer’s website.
Springside senior Erica Swan of Rydal was among the Chestnut Hill Academy and Springside School students who advanced to Finalist standing in the National Merit Scholarship 2009 competition. Consistently on high honor roll, she has also received many of Springside’s departmental honors, including Distinction in History (three years), Distinction in Latin (three years), Distinction in Mathematics (two years), Distinction in English (two years), and Distinction in Visual Arts (2007). She was named Student of the Week three times during high school and placed or received honorable mention in various science fairs and also in the American Architectural Foundation’s Redesign Your School Contest.
While scholastics are one of Swan’s strong points that is not all this young woman is about. She has served her school and the surrounding community for four years with the Service Board, including working with children, saving the environment, and volunteering at the library. Students at Pastorius Public Elementary School look forward to Erica and her classmates appearing once a week to hear them read before school and to encourage their love of literacy. Erica has kept this commitment 25 weeks a year for all four years of high school. She also participates in the First Friday program at Pastorius, where Springside students plan a themed activity enrichment time with the children on a Friday night. During high school, Swan also volunteered at the Abington Free Library, interned at Jefferson School of Nursing, and participated in GUTSE (Girls United to Save the Environment). |
