HYSA students honored with Cambridge Scholars Awards

Sixteen Herberger Young Scholars Academy students were recognized with prestigious awards from Cambridge Assessment International Education on March 5, to acknowledge their outstanding performance in the Cambridge examination series. HYSA is a school for gifted students in grades 7–12 and affiliated with Arizona State University’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College. 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. 

Michael Twilling, principal of HYSA says, “This year’s Outstanding Learner Awards recognized the talent and dedication of the Herberger Young Scholars Academy’s students and staff. For a relatively small school, we had 16 students honored as among the top achieving students in the state and country. That’s incredible. We are so proud of the time and effort these students put toward their studies and proud of the teachers who helped guide them to excellence.” 

Hear from a few of the honorees:

Carly Cairns, senior, Outstanding Learner Award with Distinction: “My experience at HYSA has been wonderful. I’m given a lot of flexibility to guide my own path within the classes I take. I applied to colleges and will find out in a couple of weeks where I was accepted. I’m just looking for a liberal arts education where I can combine my love of theater and history. I would like to double major and my goal is to continue my studies into law school. Ideally, I’d go into criminal defense law, human rights law or producing in the theater. That’s the great thing about HYSA, I’ve been able to merge everything together within the course of my studies.” 

Jared Schein, sophomore, Outstanding Learner Award with Merit: “The culture of HYSA and the way it’s structured is definitely unique. We are such a small school so everyone knows each other and are friends. You probably couldn’t say that about a ‘normal’ school. Everyone is also different ages, which can be challenging, but we all look out for each other. I’d like to study computer science or electrical engineering.” 

Katelyn John, sophomore, Outstanding Learner Award with Merit: “I really love HYSA, especially the curriculum and community. We are such a small school, so we all know each other and help each other learn. My goal is to study medicine.” 

Sophia Hatsell, sophomore, Outstanding Learner Award with Distinction: “The curriculum at HYSA is based around Cambridge and comes with a large spectrum of things. I love the innovation that was put into it. I would like to study mathematics — HYSA really helped me build the idea of what industry I wanted to go into.” 

The complete list of HYSA’s Cambridge Scholar Award honorees: 

Drew Kolber: Outstanding Learner Award with Distinction (gained high marks in the examinations of three or more Cambridge International IGCSE Level Subjects)

Austin Graham-O-Hara: Outstanding Learner Award with Distinction (gained high marks in the examinations of three or more Cambridge International IGCSE Level Subjects)

Sophia Hatsell: Outstanding Learner Award with Distinction (gained high marks in the examinations of three or more Cambridge International IGCSE Level Subjects)

Liam Ryan: Outstanding Learner Award with Merit (gained high marks in the examinations of three or more Cambridge International IGCSE Level Subjects)

Annika Erickson: Outstanding Learner Award with Merit (gained high marks in the examinations of three or more Cambridge International IGCSE Level Subjects)

Michael Buerger: Outstanding Learner Award with Merit (gained high marks in the examinations of three or more Cambridge International IGCSE Level Subjects)

Katelyn John: Outstanding Learner Award with Merit (gained high marks in the examinations of three or more Cambridge International IGCSE Level Subjects)

Jared Schein: Outstanding Learner Award with Merit (gained high marks in the examinations of three or more Cambridge International IGCSE Level Subjects)

Carly Cairns: Outstanding Learner Award with Distinction (gained high marks in the examinations of three or more Cambridge International AS Level Subjects) 

Joseph Norman: Outstanding Learner Award with Merit (gained high marks in the examinations of three or more Cambridge International AS Level Subjects) 

Pierre-Louis Hamel: Outstanding Learner Award (gained high marks in the examinations of three or more Cambridge International AS Level Subjects)

Emily Tenaglia: Outstanding Learner Award (gained high marks in the examinations of three or more Cambridge International A Level Subjects)

Giselle Ruiz: Outstanding Learner Award (gained high marks in the examinations of three or more Cambridge International A Level Subjects)

Ben Weinstock: Outstanding Learner Award with Merit (gained high marks in the examinations of three or more Cambridge International A Level Subjects)

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

Zoe Bushman: Outstanding Learner Award with Distinction (gained high marks in the examinations of three or more Cambridge international IGCSE Level Subjects); Top in Country, Literature (English) (IGCSE Level awarded to the learners who have achieved the highest standard mark in the country in an individual subject)

Learn more about the Herberger Young Scholars Academy.