Carrollton High School senior Audrey Best continues to pay tribute to her surname with an academic performance record that has earned her several prestigious accolades.
The most recent is the designation of the Region 1 STAR Student honor for posting the highest SAT score in the 14-county region. She is among an elite class of only nine CHS region winners dating back to 1973.
Audrey was named STAR Student for CHS in January and selected Kim Eason as her STAR Teacher. Typically, the region winners across the state compete for the state honor in April, but this year’s competition has been cancelled because of statewide event bans put in place to lessen the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Audrey is also a candidate for the United States Presidential Scholars Program. Established in 1964, this prestigious invitation-only program recognizes the nation’s most distinguished graduating high school seniors. Audrey is among 600 other accomplished students nationwide who have been named semifinalists and submitted applications to be reviewed by the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars. This body will select up to 161 students as Presidential Scholars, representing all 50 states and territories. The scholars will then be honored during the National Recognition Program, scheduled to be held in Washington, D.C., in June.
Another impressive recognition on Audrey’s resumé is her designation as a National Merit Scholarship Program finalist. About 15,000 other academically talented high school seniors, less than 1 percent of high school seniors nationwide, also were named finalists. They now have an opportunity to continue in the competition to earn the Merit Scholar title and receive one of 7,500 National Merit scholarships worth more than $31 million that will be offered this spring.
In addition to her strong academic performance, Audrey is also an athlete who competes in tennis and cross country. She is the daughter of Ronald and Mary Jo Best of Carrollton.
