Two Sweet Home High School seniors have been nominated as candidates for the U.S. Presidential Scholars program this year.
Sweet Home’s nominees are Ethan Malabago and Kirsten Sautel, both of whom will graduate this June.
Sautel is the daughter of Keith and Kelly Sautel. Malabago is the son of Ramil and Lisa Malabago.
Lisa Malabago, who is a counselor at the high school, said that Principal Ralph Brown was notified by the state Department of Education, recommending that the school nominate the two.
“We were actually kind of caught by surprise when we got it,” she said of that communique. “We didn’t exactly know what it was all about.”
Candidates are selected based on “superior academic and artistic achievements, leadership qualities, strong character and involvement in community and school activities.”
Malabago said the nominations are tied to test scores, and that both Sautel and Ethan Malabago, who is her son, have scored high on ACT and SAT tests, among the top scorers in the state.
Less than 6,000 seniors nationally are candidates for the honor, which according to the U.S. Presidential Scholars Office, is “one of the highest honors bestowed on graduating high school seniors.”
“That’s out of, like 3.8 million students,” Lisa Malabago said. “So it’s
The program, established in 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson to recognize distinguished graduating seniors’ academic achievements, was expanded in 1979 to include students who demonstrate excellence in the arts, then was further expanded in 2015 to include students who demonstrate accomplishment in career and technical fields.
Up to 161 Presidential Scholars are recognized annually each June with the Presidential Scholars Medallion. Last year two finalists were selected from Oregon, one from Crescent Valley High School of Corvallis and the other from Jesuit High School in Portland.
Nominees are reviewed by a panel of educators and approximately 600 semifinalists will be selected in early April. The Commission of 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 this year’s Presidential Scholars in May.