Winner in English & Literature on December 13th, 2009
Sarah Hunter, a senior, is a true academic with an insatiable appetite for knowledge. She holds a 4.71 weighted grade point average and scored 30 on the ACT. By year's end, Sarah Hunter will have completed six AP classes including AP English Literature, AP English Language, AP World History, AP Calculus BC, AP Biology and AP U.S. History. She has maintained excellent grades while serving as the lead attorney for three years on the Mock Trial Team. She has been a member of the Junior Classical League for four years and the Coexist Team for two years. Sarah Hunter is a poised and reliable student leader. She has been selected to the National Honor Society, National English Honor Society, National History Honor Society, National Latin Honor Society, Quill and Scroll (International Journalism Honor Society) and Mu Alpha Theta (Math Honor Society). She won first place in the National Junior Classical League Creative Writing Contest, won the First Tennessee Financial Literacy Essay Contest, and won first place in the school and third place in the region in the National History Day Essay contest. She also won the English Portfolio Award in 10th Grade. At the end of her sophomore year, Sarah Hunter approached the school's newspaper sponsor and asked to be considered for the position of editor of the school newspaper. She was selected and became the first junior to be appointed to this challenging position. With Sarah Hunter at the helm, the school published a record six newspapers during the school year. The newspaper staff increased from 15 regular writers to 40. That same year a journalism class was added to the curriculum. Although Sarah Hunter was the only student who signed up for it, the teacher found a few other interested students. With Sarah Hunter's motivation and leadership, the class blossomed and now has nine students in it. For three years, Sarah Hunter has been actively involved with Happening, a spiritual renewal weekend in the Episcopal Church run by youth for youth. She served in the highest leadership role as Rector this year where she supervised 35 Happening participants and 50 staff members. In this role she was responsible for every aspect of the retreat. In addition she was appointed by the Bishop of the Diocese of West Tennessee to serve on the Happening Steering Committee which included four youth and a small group of adults.
