Students at Hazen Union School recently earned academic honors from the College Board National Recognition Programs. These programs celebrate students' hard work in high school and showcase their strong academic performance. The academic honors for rural area, Black, Indigenous, and/or Latino students are an opportunity for students to share their strong academic achievements with colleges and scholarship programs that are seeking to recruit diverse talent.

At Hazen Union School, Georgia Allen and Tobias Benson each received the academic honor.

Georgia is a senior at Hazen Union with academic interests that include English, politics, law, art, and philosophy. Her co- and extracurricular activities include drama, art, literature, and violin (playing privately and in the Green Mountain Youth Symphony). She also finds time to work at Buffalo Mountain Market and will soon take a position at the Galaxy Bookstore as well. Outside of these pursuits, Georgia helps care for her younger sister and loves watching movies and cats. This past summer Georgia participated in a two-week cultural exchange program to Belize funded by the state department, and in the summer of 2022, she attended the Governor’s Institutes of Vermont, an immersive, residential summer learning program on college campuses throughout the state.

Upon hearing the news of the honors, Georgia commented, “I’m honored to receive this award and value the recognition of rural students who are often overlooked.”

Tobias is a senior at Hazen Union and is also enrolled at Vermont State University-Williston in the early college program where he is studying computer engineering. While at Hazen, Tobias participated in cross country for two years, esports team for two years, and basketball for one year. Commenting on the recognition, Tobias stated, “I am very grateful to my family, friends, and teachers for pushing me to be the best student I could be.”

“We’re thrilled to celebrate our students and recognize them for the great work they’ve been doing. Georgia and Tobias represent a proud and long Hazen tradition of excellence that reaches back to Hardwick Academy. Assessments like the PSAT/NMSQT®, PSAT™ 10, and AP® exams, along with classroom and community performance, show the hard work of these students,” said Jason Di Giulio, Principal at Hazen Union.  “There’s so much that makes our students unique, and receiving this honor reinforces this as an asset for their future.”

The criteria for eligible students include:

• GPA of 3.5 or higher.
• PSAT/NMSQT or PSAT 10 assessment scores that are within the top 10% of assessment takers in each state for each award program or earned a score of 3 or higher on 2 or more AP Exams in 9th and 10th grade.
• Attend school in a rural area or small town, or identify as African American/Black, Hispanic American/Latino, or Indigenous/Native.

Congratulations to Georgia and Tobias!