Meet Our Seniors

Three seniors share how their experience at Sayre built their skills as learners, shaped their interests, and helped them make confident choices for university study.

Three seniors participated in the Kentucky Governor’s Scholars Program (GSP), a selective five-week summer residential program created in 1983 to expose the “best and brightest” to the opportunities available in the Commonwealth. Although Gigi Cornett, Henry Deckard, and Anna Palumbo studied different topics at GSP, they all believed Sayre prepared them for the life-changing experience that will continue to pay dividends at college and beyond. 

For two of the scholars, attending GSP was in their blood. Gigi’s mom, a former scholar, encouraged Gigi to apply, and Henry’s brother Levy ’21 shared his experience with his brother. Anna heard about the program from upper-level students and “was drawn to the idea of meeting new people across Kentucky, spending time on a college campus, and learning new topics.”

All three benefited from the support of former college counselor Randy Mills. Mr. Mills managed the application process, assisted with essays, and helped consolidate extracurricular activities. Other Sayre faculty and coaches also assisted the students by writing letters of recommendation.

As for how the Sayre education contributed to the scholars’ GSP experience, they believed in being well-prepared as a result of Sayre’s “encouraging and open-minded atmosphere,'' according to Henry. Gigi added that teachers “are focused on helping their students learn rather than placing emphasis on our performance.” Anna found that the “strong work ethic” instilled in her at Sayre helped her maintain her focus.

During GSP, students select a Focus Area, a General Studies subject, and a Seminar topic. While their coursework differed, they had a similar appreciation for the friendships made across the state, the various clubs and activities offered, and the off-campus field trips. Also, they highly recommend that future seniors attend GSP as it helped shape who they are today. For Gigi and Anna, GSP influenced their potential career choices: anthropology for Gigi and journalism for Anna.

Congratulations to Anna, Henry, and Gigi on being selected for GSP!
 

Congratulations to the Class of 2023 for all of their college acceptances!  Listen as a few of our seniors who applied and were accepted Early Decision to the college of their choice discuss how Sayre's faculty, college counseling services, internships, and programming prepared and helped them map out sound post-secondary study plans. 

Find out how Sayre prepared these D1 signees for athletics, college, and life.

Kylee Dennis will play basketball at the University of Southern Indiana, a member of the Ohio Valley Conference.

Raymond Saatman will play baseball in the Southeastern Conference at the University of Kentucky.

Addie Stockham will play baseball with Eastern Kentucky University, of the Atlantic Sun Conference. 

Congratulations to National Merit Semifinalists Dakota Musgrave '23 and Sam Quintero '22!

"We are so proud of these two students and their accomplishments," said Director of College Counseling Dr. Laura Bonzo-Sims. "Being recognized as National Merit Semifinalists is a tribute to the hard work and dedication that Sam and Dakota have given to their academic pursuits. It is also a testament to the encouragement, guidance, and support of their teachers and families. Sayre is honored to celebrate Sam and Dakota's success."

Approximately 1.5 million high school juniors entered the 2023 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2021 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of over 16,000 Semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for 7,250 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $28 million that will be offered next spring.

Congratulations to these outstanding senior student-athletes who earned the opportunity to play sports for their respective colleges!  We look forward to cheering their success both on and off the field.

Cole Pennington will play football for Marshall University.

Jackson Marshall will play football for Marshall University.

Lexie Blackburn will play lacrosse for Bard College.

Bill Bradley will play football for Carnegie Mellon University.

Cat Graves will play soccer and track for University of Findlay.

Sammy Slabaugh will play lacrosse for Beloit College.

Jane Stilz will play golf for Sewanee: The University of the South.

Congratulations to National Merit Semifinalists Sadie Barlow and Noah Lutz plus Commended Student Lindsay Whitaker.

Over 1.5 million high school juniors entered the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2020 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, representing one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state.

These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $30 million that will be offered next spring.

Seniors share how Sayre's Internship Program provides them with a deeper understanding of how business works, how professionals conduct themselves, and how organizational, planning and review skills are essential to their success at Sayre and beyond.

These seniors explain how Sayre helped them develop strong and diverse academic and co-curricular portfolios, and how their experiences here helped them gain acceptances at schools of their choosing.

"I am extremely proud of this amazing academic accomplishment earned by these Sayre School seniors. To have seven members of the class garner National Merit distinction speaks to the high academic caliber of our student body, as well as to the high caliber of instruction offered by our faculty," said College Counselor Randy Mills.

Congratulations to Levy Deckard; Spencer Lutz; Ricky Reynolds; Parker Stewart; and Donald Woodruff. Sayre National Merit Commended Scholars are Claire Thayer and Tracy Zhao.

Over 1.5 million juniors in about 21,000 high schools entered the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2019 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state.

These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,600 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $30 million that will be offered next spring.

Seniors Abigail Dietrich, Harry Wang, Caroline Parker, and Perry Mains share how their Sayre School experience challenged them personally and academically and provided them opportunities to develop new skills and interests. Caroline Parker, who plans to attend Yale University in the fall, remarks on how Sayre's "culture of participation" opened doors for her to become involved in new pursuits, from her role as Yearbook Editor to her place in student government. Harry Wang, who will attend Carnegie Mellon, said, "Sayre doesn't only prepare students for college, it prepares them for life!"