Local students named candidates in U.S. Presidential Scholars Program

Four students in InMenlo’s coverage area have been named candidates in the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program. They are:

• Maren C. Deem, Portola Valley – Woodside Priory School
• Adrian M. Deutscher-Bisho, Menlo Park – Menlo Atherton High School
• Lucy Knox, Menlo Park – Sacred Heart Preparatory
• Alexander Parikh-Briggs, Menlo Park – Menlo Atherton High School

They are among the more than 5,000 candidates in the 2023 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program who were selected from nearly 3.6 million students expected to graduate from U.S. high schools in the year 2023.

Inclusion in the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program is one of the highest honors bestowed upon graduating high school seniors. Scholars are selected on the basis of superior academic and artistic achievements, leadership qualities, strong character and involvement in community and school activities.

A distinguished panel of educators will review these submissions and select approximately 600 semifinalists in early April. The Commission on Presidential Scholars, a group of up to 32 eminent citizens appointed by the President, will select the finalists, and the U.S. Department of Education will announce the Scholars in May.

Pictured is M-A senior Alexander Parikh-Briggs, who serves as a youth representative for the Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Commission (JJDPC) in San Mateo county, where he advocates for reform versus punishment for delinquent youth to avoid arrest and stay or return to school. Additionally, Alex serves on the San Mateo youth commission where he has led the teen mental health workshop.

In addition to serving his local government, Alex is an author and publisher of his own research project focused on reducing disparities in education with low income minority groups and ultimately student performance.

In school, as captain of his school’s speech and debate team for the last three years and debater for nearly a decade, he has won first place nationally at the John Dempsey Invitational in 2021 and first place nationally in public speaking at the Matin Luther King Debate Invitational in 2023.

As captain of the varsity tennis team and top singles seed, Alex has been recognized as a top 10 tennis player in the Peninsula Athletic League Division representing 17 high schools in the San Francisco Bay Area. A National Merit Commended Semifinalist and AP Scholar with Honor, Alex has achieved a GPA of 4.29 and plans to complete 12 AP classes by graduation.