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(Reno,
Nev.)
– The Davidson Academy of Nevada, a free public school for profoundly gifted students, is proud to announce its first graduating class of eight students - four of whom have chosen to stay in Reno and attend the University of Nevada for their undergraduate studies.
Of the eight graduates, six have attended the Academy since its opening in 2006. The Davidson Academy’s graduating class of 2009 and the colleges they will attend are:
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Ms. Annalisee Brasil – University of Washington
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Ms. Rachel Ellison – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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Mr. Andrew George – University of Nevada, Reno
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Ms. Melanie Malinas – Oberlin College
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Mr. Cody Nolan – University of Nevada, Reno
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Ms. Emma Schmelzer – Bennington College
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Ms. Kestrel Schmidt – University of Nevada, Reno
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Mr. Andy Wei – University of Nevada, Reno
“I’m really excited to graduate and move on to the University of Nevada full time, but I’ll miss The Davidson Academy a lot,” said National Merit Finalist Andy Wei. “I’ve had a great time at the Academy and made friends that I know I’ll have for the rest of my life.”
Four of the graduates are National Merit Finalists, Rachel, Melanie, Cody and Andy (http://www.nationalmerit.org/) and two are also Presidential
Scholar candidates, Rachel and Melanie (http://www.presidentialscholars.org/).
The first public school of its kind in the nation, the Academy opened in August 2006 with an inaugural class of 35 students that increased last year to 69 students. This year’s student body ranges in age from 9 to 17. Approximately half of the students are from northern Nevada and the others moved with their families to Reno to attend the Academy. Twenty new students have been accepted for the 2009-2010 school year.
“We are so proud of the graduating class of 2009,” said Colleen Harsin, director of The Davidson Academy. “It has been a privilege to work with these students and watch them thrive. Several of them have already earned enough college credit to be classified as upperclassmen – there’s no telling how far they will go.”
In 1999, Bob and Jan Davidson founded the Davidson Institute for Talent Development, a national non-profit located in Reno that supports our nation’s brightest young people. In 2004, the Davidsons co-authored, with Laura Vanderkam, Genius Denied: How to Stop Wasting Our Brightest Young Minds, published by Simon & Schuster. In 2006, they founded The Davidson Academy of Nevada, located in the Jot Travis Building on the University of Nevada, Reno campus. For more information
on the Davidson Institute, or to learn more about The Davidson
Academy, please visit www.DavidsonGifted.org
and www.DavidsonAcademy.UNR.edu.
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