A UHS Senior has been selected as a College Board National Recognition Program awardee. 

Willem Alleyne  received the National African American Recognition Award. This is a big accomplishment during a demanding period of their high school career.

“I am proud of my hard work in achieving this recognition. However, I believe there should be more African-Americans receiving awards like these in the school and around central Illinois,” Alleyne said. “I have been very lucky to grow up in an environment that fostered my learning, but I think we can do better as a community to help other minorities share this experience by promoting safe and diverse learning environments in our school. I am happy to see the school move in the right direction, especially with the appointment of Principal Nance who is very active in getting young kids excited to go to school and achieve at the collegiate level.”

The requirements for the recognition are: 

• Have a GPA of 3.5 or higher
• Took the PSAT 10 in the spring of 10th grade and scored in the top 10% by state
• Take the PSAT/NMSQT in the fall of 11th grade and score in the top 10% by state
• Earned a score of 3 or higher on 2 or more AP Exams before 11th grade (9th and 10th grade AP scores are considered)

The College Board National Recognition Programs grant students academic honors that can be included on college and scholarship applications. Colleges use these honors to identify students from underrepresented groups who have excelled in classrooms and on the PSAT/NMSQT, the PSAT 10, or AP Exams.

While Alleyne hasn’t selected where he will land for his post-secondary education, he knows he wants to study mechanical engineering. He’s applied to many of the top mechanical engineering programs in the BIG 10, PAC 10 and Ivy League.