Local seniors named finalists for U.S. Presidential Scholar Award

WHEELING, W.Va. (WTRF) — Two students at one local high school are in the spotlight after being named finalists for a very prestigious award.

After applying, 625 semifinalists from all over the country are advancing to the final round of the 2024 Presidential Scholars Competition and two of those finalists are from Wheeling Park High School.

Wheeling Park seniors, Grant Kenamond and Kathryn Prather have earned a chance at being named one of this year’s Presidential Scholars.

Outstanding ACT and SAT scores are the main influence on statewide selections for the award. According to the U.S Presidential Scholars Fact Sheet, most scholars are selected based on broad academic achievement.

During their time at Wheeling Park High School, both Grant and Kathryn have gone above and beyond when it comes to academics and extracurricular activities.

”I’m on the tennis team, debate team, I’m in the orchestra. And I mean, all of these have made me a more well-rounded person, which is good not only for applying for awards like this, but it’s also just, you know, makes me a better person in general.”

Grant Kenamond – Senior at WPHS, 2024 U.S. Presidental Scholar Finalist

”We qualify through our standardized testing, which I didn’t study too much for particularly, but all the coursework that I did made it possible for me to score highly on that. And I just have always really challenged myself to take the highest level classes whenever possible.”

Kathryn Prather – Senior at WPHS, 2024 U.S. Presidental Scholar Finalist

The White House Commission will review all candidacy materials and will select up to 161 U.S. Presidental Scholars each year.

In terms of where they are headed next, Kenamond will be attending Purdue University and intends to major in Chemical Engineering while Prather will attend Johns Hopkins University and is likely to major in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering with hopes to double major in Economics.

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