November 2024 News
BETA Club Success
Sunday, November 17, 2024
BETA Club “is the largest, independent, educational youth organization in America, emphasizing the four pillars of academic achievement, character, leadership, and service.” The weekend of November 15-16, the Indiana Academy chapter competed at the Indiana State competition and achieved resounding success! Four teams and eleven individual Academy competitors (a total of 15 students) advanced to the National competition in Orlando, Florida, this summer. Those advancing are:
Individual
1st Place – Hand Drawn Anime Division II – Lily Ellis
1st Place – Black & White Photography Division II – Sophia Vijverberg
2nd Place – Digital Enhanced Photography Division II – Kinlee Taylor
2nd Place – Digital Art Division I – Jeevisha Dhanda
2nd Place – Biomedical Health Science – Jeevisha Dhanda
2nd Place – BETA Scholarship – Brody Chestnut
3rd Place – US History (12th Grade) – Brody Chestnut
3rd Place – Poetry Division II – Kayla Cavanaugh
3rd Place – Mathematics (11th Grade) – Yedaam Cho
3rd Place – Spelling (12th Grade) – MaKaela Gist
3rd Place – Psychology (11th Grade)- Doris Li
3rd Place – US History (11th Grade) – Kennedy Rasnick
3rd Place – Creative Writing Division I – Presli Ginder
Group
1st Place – Musicology Senior – Keagan Brogdon, Brody Chestnut, Grace Koester, & Eva Vessels
2nd Place – Engineering Senior – Sylvester Acherekoh, Yedaam Cho, Kennedy Rasnick, & Sophia Vijverberg
3rd Place – Book Battle Senior – Keagan Brogdon, Lily Ellis, Izzy Orpurt, & Calley Thomas
3rd Place – Quiz Bow Senior – Keagan Brogdon, Brody Chestnut, Lily Ellis, & Grace Koester
Congratulations to all of our Indiana Academy student competitors!
Academic Spell Bowl Results
Wednesday, November 6, 2024
On Monday, November 4th, ten of our students traveled to Hamilton Southeastern High School to compete in the area Academic Spell Bowl competition. Our team had a strong performance, with one perfect round (Sarah Glunt) and one near-perfect round (Jillian George). However, our score of 52 as a team was one point shy of the state qualifying cutoff this year. Sarah will have the opportunity to compete in an individual match against other students who had perfect rounds at area.
Your Spell Bowl team is: Alesya Rathinasamy (captain), Miriam Boersma, Jillian George, Sarah Glunt, Brooklyn Grey, Jordan Heaviland, Lily Partridge, Savannah Scott, Malachi Smith, Calley Thomas, and Delaney Blankenbuehler-Lee (alternate).
A big thank you to Dr. Sean Scott for driving the second van for the competition and giving us his Monday evening!
Dr. Sean Scott Published in Lincoln Lore Journal
Wednesday, November 6, 2024
Dr. Sean Scott, Associate Teaching Professor of History, has had an article included in the most recent edition of Lincoln Lore, a journal published by the Friends of the Lincoln Collection since 1929.
The article, “Abraham Lincoln and ‘the Most Dangerous Man’ in Baltimore,” can be read online.
Congratulations to Dr. Scott!
Academy Seniors Inducted Into Technical Honor Society
Monday, October 28, 2024
On Monday, October 28, Academy seniors Asia Genawi and Ethan Tomlin, along with Associate Lecturer of Computer Science Susie Cunningham, attended the TSA (Technology Student Association) Fall Leadership Conference which was held at the Ball State University Fishers Center in Fishers, IN.
At this conference Asia (Indiana State Vice President) and Ethan (Indiana State Secretary) were honored and inducted into the Indiana State National Technical Honor Society.
From the NTHS website: “The National Technical Honor Society (NTHS) is the honor society for Career & Technical Education (CTE). As a national non-profit student organization, NTHS has been recognizing outstanding student achievement in CTE since 1984. Having served over 1.2 million members in secondary and postsecondary chapters across the country and beyond, NTHS continues to support the next generation of skilled workers and leaders through chapter activities built around our Core Four Objectives of career development, leadership development, service, and recognition.”
Asia and Ethan met all of the requirements for this honor, similar being inducted into the National Honor Society. The NTHS is for students being recognized for academic achievements in technology. As such, they will be provided with a special graduation cord, graduation tassel, and shawl for over their graduation robe.
Congratulations to Asia and Ethan. We are very proud!
Academy Student’s Poem Published
Friday, September 27, 2024
Indiana Academy senior Jordan Heaviland’s poem “Messy Love” was recently accepted for publication in the online literary journal The Lavender Journal. The poem will be published in a forthcoming issue later this year. This is Jordan’s third successful publication as an Academy student. Congratulations, Jordan!
Dr. Donald Winslow Published in The Hoosier Science Teacher
Friday, September 20, 2024
Dr. Donald Winslow, Assistant Teaching Professor of Life Sciences, had his article titled “Birdwatching: A Field-Based Unit or Short Course,” published in a recent edition of The Hoosier Science Teacher. The article highlights Dr. Winslow’s students’ work in his 2023 Birdwatching May Term course. You can read all about their work here:
Birdwatching: A Field-Based Unit or Short Course
National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists
Friday, September 20, 2024
Two weeks ago, we shared the names of the 14 senior Indiana Academy students who qualified for recognition in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Competition. Of those 14, five have advanced to the Semifinalist stage. Congratulations to Evan Bell, Miriam Boersma, Hunter Coppernoll, Ian Forster, and Justin Lin for being named semifinalists, a group comprising just 0.46% of all high school seniors in the United States! These students move on in the competition, with finalist announcements expected in February 2025.
Academy Alum’s Jewelry Appearing in Netflix Feature
Tuesday, September 10, 2024
A jewelry company founded by 1998 Academy graduate Duane McLemore and his partner Katherine Voorhies, has a pendant worn prominently by star Joey King in the Netflix feature Uglies (premiering Friday, September 13), where it is integral to the plot.
Xover0 is a two-person small business which got its start on McLemore and Voorhies’ kitchen table in Los Angeles, but has since grown (and moved) to having a full production studio in Mississippi, using advanced computation and fabrication alongside traditional craftsmanship to create novel and compelling heirloom jewelry exclusively from precious metals – all the way from idea to shipping.
“Our jewelry being featured like this is part of a wider arc of my career which wouldn’t have been possible without the Academy,” says McLemore. “The impact the Academy had on me as a person, scholar, and creator is immeasurable – the things it fostered in me have been integral to my success as an architect and professor, and ultimately in jewelry design, and I would love to share that – and my enthusiasm to be a Academy alumnus – with the world.”
National Merit Scholarship Program Recognition
Friday, September 6, 2024
Several Indiana Academy students are recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Program and compete for scholarships yearly. This year, a large group of 14 Indiana Academy seniors qualified for the program. Those qualifying are Evan Bell, Miriam Boersma, Hunter Coppernoll, Kymaia Edge, Garrett Elliott, Lily Ellis, Ian Forester, Asia Genawi, Zishan Hyder, Justin Lin, James Peters, Aleysa Rathinasamy, Xavier Salazar, and Arav Singh. Congratulations! These students join a select group of only 1.6% of high school seniors nationwide qualifying for the program!
Academy Intern Highlighted by Yale University
Tuesday, July 9, 2024
Asia Genawi, Class of 2025, was recently featured on the Yale University Department of Physics news site for the work she did during her May Term internship.