HYSA students honored with Cambridge Scholars Awards

Late last month, 12 Herberger Young Scholars Academy students were recognized with prestigious awards from Cambridge Assessment International Education to acknowledge their outstanding performance in the Cambridge examination series. The Cambridge International General Certificate of Secondary Education is the world’s most popular international curriculum for 14 to 16-year-olds. It’s internationally recognized by leading universities and employers.

Kimberly Lansdowne, executive director of HYSA says, “I am so proud of our students, faculty and staff. They have all worked incredibly hard to achieve tremendous success in the United States on both Cambridge IGCSE and A Level examinations. Our students are the change agents — they can, and will change the world.”

Hear from a few of the honorees:

Carly Cairns, junior, Cambridge Scholar Award with Distinction: “I started HYSA four years ago after I had some troubles in normal school with people not being accommodating enough for my needs in the classroom. I toured HYSA and saw it was a perfect fit due to its interdisciplinary classes and the accelerated curriculum. The greatest appeal for me has been the interdisciplinary aspect. We learn history, language, literature all at the same time, which allows me to absorb the information in a way I really connect with and appreciate. Coming here has also given me numerous opportunities on the ASU campus with internships and classes. I audited an ASU acting class because theater is my passion, and I produced a play that integrated astronomy, theater and history. Basically, the opportunities HYSA has given me have allowed me to really flourish as a learner and as a person.

Cairns says her dream is to attend Columbia University “because of its liberal arts base and because it’s in my favorite city in the world, New York.” She’s looking for a college to let her merge her interests and not be defined by one subject. “I want to integrate theater into my life somehow, but as far as a major goes I’m looking into sociology and anthropology because those really are the cross-sections of science, history, language and literature.”

“I’m really appreciative of this award,” Cairns says, adding, “I’ve worked really hard and I’ve had great teachers helping me along the way. I think it’s just a reflection of how well this curriculum works and how hard the teachers work here.”

Zoe Bushman, sophomore, Cambridge Scholar Award with Distinction and High Achievement award for the Cambridge IGCSE Coordinated Sciences: Bushman says she enjoys the STEM year at HYSA because the subjects in the curriculum are split, meaning the STEM subjects and humanities are taught separately. “So during my STEM year, I really got to focus and go in-depth with the content and the sciences.” Bushman hasn’t made a decision about where she plans to go to college.  

Gia DeYoung, sophomore, Cambridge Scholar Award with Merit: With plans of going into theatrical acting, DeYoung would like to attend college at Drew University or Wagner College. “I’ve taken five drama courses at HYSA that I wouldn’t have been able to take at any other school,” she says. DeYoung says the curriculum has helped her expand. “The way that HYSA academics are structured allowed me to have time for liberal arts in a way I wouldn’t have in other schools,” she says.

Ben Weinstock, senior, Cambridge Scholar Award: Weinstock says HYSA is different from any school he’s attended. “The curriculum is go-at-your-own-pace, which I think is great because it’s not confined to age and that’s really a problem I’ve seen in a lot of schools.” Weinstock will be attending Barret, The Honors College at ASU.

A complete list of the Cambridge Scholar Award winners:

Olivia Johnson: Cambridge Scholar Award with Merit (gained high marks in the examinations of three or more Cambridge International AS Level Subjects); Gained the highest mark in the USA for Cambridge International AS Level Business in the June 2018 Cambridge Examinations.

Emily Tenaglia: Cambridge Scholar Award with Merit (gained high marks in the examinations of three or more Cambridge International AS Level Subjects)

Nguyen Khoa Tran: Cambridge Scholar Award (gained high marks in the examinations of three or more Cambridge International AS Level Subjects)

Giselle Ruiz: Cambridge Scholar Award with Merit (gained high marks in the examinations of three or more Cambridge International AS Level Subjects)

Ben Weinstock: Cambridge Scholar Award (gained high marks in the examinations of three or more Cambridge International AS Level Subjects)

Matthew Syms: Cambridge Scholar Award with Merit (gained high marks in the examinations of three or more Cambridge International AS Level Subjects)

Pierre-Louis Hamel: Cambridge Scholar Award with Merit (gained high marks in the examinations of three or more Cambridge international IGCSE Level Subjects)

Skye Durnford: Cambridge Scholar Award with Merit (gained high marks in the examinations of three or more Cambridge international IGCSE Level Subjects)

Carly Cairns: Cambridge Scholar Award with Distinction (gained high marks in the examinations of three or more Cambridge international IGCSE Level Subjects)

Zoe Bushman: Cambridge Scholar Award with Distinction (gained high marks in the examinations of three or more Cambridge international IGCSE Level Subjects); Gained the High Achievement award for the Cambridge IGCSE Co-Ordinated Sciences (Double Award) in the Cambridge examinations

Harold Branch: Cambridge Scholar Award with Merit (gained high marks in the examinations of three or more Cambridge international IGCSE Level Subjects)

Gia DeYoung: Cambridge Scholar Award with Merit (gained high marks in the examinations of three or more Cambridge international IGCSE Level Subjects)

Tal Spector: Cambridge Scholar Award with Merit (gained high marks in the examinations of three or more Cambridge international IGCSE Level Subjects)

Learn more about the Herberger Young Scholars Academy.