Hayley Jade Fink of St. Petersburg High School becomes the county's seventh Presidential Scholar.
By WAVENEY ANN MOORE
Published May 5, 2004
ST. PETERSBURG - Hayley Jade Fink, salutatorian of this year's International Baccalaureate program at St. Petersburg High School, was named a Presidential Scholar on Tuesday afternoon.
She is one of 141 winners across the nation this year. And she is only the seventh graduate of a Pinellas high school to win the prestigious award since the competition began in 1964.
The elite group is the tiniest fraction of the approximately 2.8-million students who are expected to graduate from high school this year in the United States.
Hayley, whose parents are St. Petersburg residents Lisa and Edward Fink, had just completed her English IB exams Tuesday when she learned of her award.
"I'm amazed," the 17-year-old said.
This year's scholars will be recognized in Washington, D.C., during the week of June 19-22. Each will receive a medallion in a ceremony sponsored by the White House.
This year's winners were selected from a field of more than 2,700 candidates by a 29-member commission appointed by President Bush. The scholars needed top grades and SAT scores, but that was only the beginning. Commitment to high ideals and community service mattered a great deal as well.
"I had to write many essays," Hayley said. "It is a very, very extensive application."
Though she admitted to being a little stressed because of this week's exams, she praised the rigorous IB program.
"I think it really prepares you for college," said the new Presidential Scholar, who will be attending Harvard University in the fall.
"I think that I'm going to be studying government. I'd like to become a senator some day. I am really into politics right now and really looking forward to the election this year."
Hayley's high school career has been a distinguished one and has included myriad activities including the National Honor Society, of which she is treasurer; the Academic Team, of which she is co-captain; and the French Honor Society, of which she is co-president. She is a co-founder and co-president of the St. Petersburg High Young Democrats and is a Pinellas County park board member, Pinellas County Youth Advisory Committee secretary, NAACP Youth Council vice president and a hospice teen volunteer.
Those who know Hayley are ecstatic.
"It's unbelievable," her mother said Tuesday. "She has worked so hard. I think she deserves it. I'm elated. I'm thrilled. It's such an honor."
Linda McPheron, International Baccalaureate coordinator and assistant principal at St. Petersburg High, said Hayley's selection as a Presidential Scholar is a "great honor" for the school and its IB program.
"This is so fabulous. She works so hard. No one is more deserving than Hayley Fink," McPheron said. "She is the epitome of a good student, volunteer in the community. She loves learning for learning's sake. She becomes involved in many things, and that's not just for bolstering her resume. She truly becomes involved with the organization.
"Some examples are she started the Young Democrats club and set out a get-out-the-vote campaign at St. Pete High and then invited Janet Reno to be a guest speaker at the school. . . . She's not afraid to state her views, and they are based on facts and really clear, critical thinking."
The Presidential Scholars Program was established by President Johnson to honor academic achievement and was expanded in 1979 to recognize students who demonstrate exceptional talent in the visual, literary and performing arts.
The other six Pinellas County Presidential Scholars are former Florida House Speaker Peter Rudy Wallace, 1972, St. Petersburg High (he has two children at the school, one of whom will be a freshman with Hayley at Harvard); Jeffrey Sourbeer, 1973, Largo High School; Laurie Butler, 1977, Shorecrest Preparatory School; Kenneth Nelson, 1988, St. Petersburg High; Carolyn Hanson, 1990, Largo High; and Kevin Rivard, 2001, Gibbs High School.
