County students reap rewards of academic success

Merit semifinalists Fletcher, Reen get good start on future

Friday, Sept. 19, 2008

Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo By GARY SMITH Mary Fletcher, left, of Westlake High School and Gavin Reen of La Plata High School are National Merit Scholarship semifinalists. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story

‘‘I get a good night’s sleep,” Mary said, ‘‘and I have always been a pretty good test taker. I also pay attention in class.”

Mary is one of two Charles County high school students who were named as semifinalists by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation last week. Gavin Reen of La Plata High School was also named a semifinalist.

Established in 1955, the NMSC is a scholarship program which has provided 335,000 students with more than $1.3 billion in money for college.

To compete for the NMSC award, a student must provide NMSC with their PSAT results — the pre-SAT Reasoning Test, formerly known as the Scholastic Aptitude Test — no later than their third year of high school. A student must also be enrolled full time, be a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident or have applied for permanent residency.

Of the 1.5 million entrants, 50,000 students with the highest PSAT scores qualify for the NMSC. There were 16,000 students who were announced as semifinalists this month. The finalists are then selected from this group in February.

The finalists receive either a single payment of $25,000 or corporate-sponsored merit scholarships or college-sponsored merit scholarships.

Mary is hoping to use her scholarships to help pay for the four-year college she eventually hopes to attend.

‘‘I know I want to major in math or computer science,” she said, ‘‘But I am not sure of which college I want to attend.”

Mary has been a Charles County resident for five years. Her father is a bridge engineer, and the family moves frequently to accommodate her father’s various projects. Currently Mary’s dad is working on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project.

Before Maryland, Mary lived in Colorado. She enjoys seeing the different parts of the country and has taken advantage of living so close to the museums and monuments in Washington, D.C.

‘‘I went to the top of the Washington Monument,” Mary said. ‘‘It was pretty.”

In her spare time, Mary participates in her church’s bell choir and sings for her church choir.

She also enjoys quilting with her mother and has made an ‘‘I Spy” quilt, themed from the children’s book of the same name, which she entered in the Charles County fair last week. Mary received a blue ribbon for the quilt.

Chrystal Benson, principal of Westlake High School, is proud of her pupil.

‘‘Mary is a studious young lady,” Benson said. ‘‘She has worked hard and is very deserving of the award. We look forward to her accomplishing many more great achievements.”

Karla Fletcher is Mary’s mother.

‘‘We are very proud of Mary,” she said. ‘‘She has always been a good student, and we expect her to do well. I raised my four children to have a love of learning. They just aren’t happy if they come home and nothing was accomplished at school that day.”

Gavin is a senior at La Plata High School.

Nina Reen is his mother.

‘‘Gavin really, truly, is a joy and a blessing in our lives,” Nina said. ‘‘Gavin is a wonderful human being.”

Nina told some stories of Gavin growing up.

‘‘Gavin should have been nicknamed Chip,” she said. ‘‘Sometimes we tease him that he has a computer chip instead of a brain.”

Gavin, who has lived in Charles County all his life, does have a strategy for taking the PSAT test.

‘‘Just attempt all the questions,” Gavin said. He also prepares by studying vocabulary and basic math. It might be to Gavin’s advantage that he is a natural test taker, he said.

Gavin, who hopes to attend Harvard, Yale, Brown or Penn State, plans to major in prelaw, psychology or political science, with hopes of becoming a patent or corporate lawyer.

One of the many honors Gavin has received was a fourth prize at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair held in Atlanta earlier this year. He received the award for his science project, ‘‘Marvelous Magnetosphere.” Gavin also received a commendation for his project from the Patent and Trademark Office and had the abstract from his science project published in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Journal.

‘‘For my science project, I built a device with which I measured and tracked movements and fluctuations in the earth’s magnetic fields,” Gavin replied, when asked to explain his project in layman’s terms.

Gavin has received numerous scholarships, including an $8,000 scholarship from the Office of Naval Research and several from the Southern Maryland Realtors Association.

In his spare time, Gavin competes with the La Plata swim team, is in the Student Government Association and is a member of the National Honor Society. He also plays chess and has won a number of tournaments while competing in Charles County.

Gavin is also a member of the ‘‘It’s Academic” team, and is involved in the Best Buddies program, which encourages teens to form friendships with people with developmental disabilities.

Gavin also volunteers for Teen Court, which is a jury of teens who are allowed to judge first-time offenders. Only those who appear before the court system for minor offenses may be judged by teen court.

Just in case you didn’t think Gavin had enough outside interests, he enjoys music, both listening to classic rock and playing music. Gavin plays clarinet with the symphonic band and piano for his own pleasure.

Gavin collects fountain pens and swords as a hobby. He carries his 1950s Shaffer Signature Pen around for everyday use.

‘‘It is a top-of-the-line pen,” Gavin said.

Travel is also something Gavin enjoys. He has traveled to Europe twice with a group of 40 other Southern Maryland teenagers. The group he traveled with is called the Peace Through Understanding Group. He has been to England, France, Ireland, Italy and Wales.

‘‘I ate haggis in Scotland,” Gavin said. ‘‘It tasted like bratwurst.”

Evelyn Arnold, principal of La Plata High School, thinks Gavin’s accomplishments are wonderful.

‘‘He is a great student,” Arnold said. ‘‘He has a great personality, is very hardworking and dedicated to his high school. He always gets along well with peers and teachers.”

Mark Reen, Gavin’s father, said Gavin has always had an incredible love of learning.

‘‘Gavin has a great heart and soul,” Reen said. ‘‘It is fun to be his parent.”