Student receives All-Star honor: Mt. Vernon senior 1 of 40 on Indiana list

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FORTVILLE — A Mt. Vernon senior is among 40 Hoosier students recognized at the state level this year as an academic all-star.

Nathan Grandstaff, who will graduate at the top of his class from Mt. Vernon High School this week, is an Indiana All-Star, a program by the Indiana Association of School Principals to honor high-performing high school students.

Statewide, 264 students were nominated by public and private schools for the award. Each public and private high school accredited by the Indiana Department of Education may suggest one senior to be considered an Indiana Academic All-Star. From these nominees, a selection committee chooses the regional winners, followed by the 40 Indiana Academic All-Stars. In addition to the 40 Indiana Academic All-Star students, 50 students were named regional all-stars.

The Academic All-Star distinction recognizes seniors who excel in the classroom and also are actively involved in their schools and communities, taking on leadership roles in those activities, a news release states.

The Indiana Academic All-Stars program recognizes academic success in the same manner athletes are traditionally honored as all-star athletes.

The panel of judges considers a nominee’s total experience during high school, both in and outside the classroom. Students’ overall grade-point average, SAT and ACT scores, the courses they take, their extracurricular and community service involvement and academic achievements are all considered during the selection process.

Grandstaff was recently recognized at a luncheon, where Mt. Vernon Principal Greg Roach accompanied him.

Mt. Vernon educators nominated Grandstaff for the award based on his success at the high school, Roach said. He’s currently ranked first in his class, is a National Merit Scholarship finalist and highly gifted in math and science, Roach said.

“Mt. Vernon High School is extremely proud to have Nathan recognized as one of the top 90 students in the state of Indiana,” Roach wrote in a statement to the Daily Reporter. “To know that Nathan is among the best of the best gives me a feeling of great pride for him and Mt. Vernon High School.”

Grandstaff — who is a four-year tennis player and member of various clubs at the school — said he is honored Mt. Vernon selected him as the district’s nominee; he’s always known he was a hard-working student, and the nomination reinforced that for him, he said.

Next year, he plans to head to University of Oklahoma, to which he received a full-ride scholarship, to study aerospace engineering.