Ryan Hazlett Named Academic All-State Scholar

Ponca City High School student Ryan Hazlett has been named a 2016 Academic All-State Scholar by the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence.

This prestigious award honors 100 public high school seniors with a $1,000 scholarship, a medallion, and a commemorative plaque. It also provides their high school with an Academic All-State flag to mark their commitment to academic excellence.

These 100 top public high school seniors, selected from 661 nominations statewide, hail from 75 schools in 68 Oklahoma school districts.

The 2016 Academic All-State Class is the 30th to be selected by the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence.

Since the award program’s inception in 1987, some 3,000 high school seniors from 319 school districts have been named All-State scholars.

Three Oklahoma high schools – Commerce, Lone Grove and Ripley – will celebrate their first Academic All-Staters.

The All-Staters will be recognized at the foundation’s 30th annual Academic Awards Banquet on May 21 at the Embassy Suites Conference Center in Norman.

David L. Boren, chairman and founder of the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence, describes the selection of the scholars as “Oklahoma’s most rigorous academic competition.”

To be nominated for Academic All-State, students must meet one of the following criteria: an American College Test (ACT) composite score of at least 30; a Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) combined critical reading and math score of at least 1340; or be selected as a semi-finalist for a National Merit, National Achievement or National Hispanic Scholarship.

This year’s All-Staters scored an average of 33 on the ACT, with nine recipients scoring a perfect 36. In addition, 38 of this year’s All-Staters are National Merit semifinalists, while four are National Hispanic Scholars.

Academic All-Staters are nominated by their principals or superintendents and are selected on the basis of academic achievement, extracurricular activities and community involvement, as well as an essay submitted by each nominee.

The selection committee, which is chaired by retired Tulsa attorney Teresa B. Adwan, 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 Academic Awards Banquet is open to the public. Tickets are $50.

The awards ceremony will be televised statewide by OETA at 8 p.m. May 28.

For more information, call the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence office at (405) 236-0006 or visit its website at www.ofe.org .

Founded in 1985, the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence is a statewide, nonprofit organization dedicated to recognizing and encouraging academic excellence in Oklahoma’s public schools.