Naperville Central student named Presidential Scholar
As if his 4.8 GPA, perfect ACT score of 36 and status as a National Merit Finalist weren’t enough, Kevin Hu added another honor to the list this week.
The Naperville Central High School senior was informed Wednesday he is one of the nation’s 20 U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts.
The scholars were nominated by the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts and its core YoungArts program.
Inclusion in the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program is the highest honor that can be bestowed upon an artistically talented graduating high school senior.
“This recognition is definitely the highest honor I’ve ever received,” Hu said Thursday. “I’m very grateful. This puts an exclamation point on my high school career.”
Hu, a first chair violinist and concert master of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Youth Symphony, submitted a video performance to the foundation.
Each year, YoungArts receives up to 7,000 applications for its national program, and after a rigorous adjudication process, YoungArts nominates 60 finalists for further consideration to the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars.
“I was very surprised because I was surrounded by incredible talent during the judging process,” he said. “I really saw myself as small potatoes compared to everyone else.”
Naperville Central Principal Bill Wiesbrook used words like “incredible” and “unbelievable” when asked about Hu.
“Kevin is incredible in the academic arena and performs at the highest level in the music arena and in between everything else, he’s a great classmate and a joy to be around,” Wiesbrook said. “I’m very proud to have a student like Kevin at Naperville Central and I’m sure his classmates are too.”
The U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts will perform and exhibit in June in Washington, D.C. Hu said he will be in Washington on June 14 to begin preparing for a production with the other winners.
The artists and writers will exhibit their works at the Smithsonian American Art Museum on Sunday, June 19, and perform at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Monday, June 20.
Hu will attend Harvard University in the fall to study mathematics and computer science.