Alumna Named to USA Today All-Academic Team

from NavySports.com:

Navy swimming standout Kelly Zahalka (Sr., Richmond, Va.) was named by USA Today to its First-Team All-USA College Academic Team. The entire list of first, second and third-team and honorable mention recipients was announced Wednesday by the publication.

This is the 20th year in which USA Today has selected the team, which is meant to honor undergraduate students at four-year colleges based upon their "intellectual endeavors, community service and campus leadership."

An honors history major with a Chinese minor, Zahalka is ranked third in Navy's Class of 2009 with a 4.00 cumulative grade-point average. She spent the 2008 fall semester as an exchange student at Capital Normal University in Beijing, China, and will be commissioned as an officer in the Marine Corps upon graduating from Navy next month.

Zahalka has previously received both a Harry S. Truman and Gen. George C. Marshall Scholarship. Criteria for the Truman Scholarship included "leadership potential, intellectual ability and the likelihood of making a difference," while the Marshall Scholarship will allow her to study for two years in the United Kingdom.

Zahalka is the first women's swimmer in Patriot League history to have been selected as the league scholar-athlete of the year for her sport three times, and was named as the overall female scholar-athlete of the year in the league in 2008. She has earned Academic All-America honors from the College Sports Information Directors of America in both 2007 (third team) and `08 (first team).

Click here for the complete article: http://www.navysports.com/sports/w-swim/spec-rel/042909aab.html.

Alumna Starts Global Development Major at UVA

from UVA Today:

In 2006, Kendall Wallace saw a gap in the University of Virginia's curriculum. But instead of just complaining about it, Wallace, along with more than a dozen other students and faculty, did something about it.

The gap involved the study of global development. While students have been able to major in foreign affairs or in programs studying various regions of the world, there wasn't an interdisciplinary offering that focused on the problems of developing countries. Until now.

On Monday, the University's newest major, Global Development, was officially unveiled at the Colonnade Club.

"We saw an incredible, growing interest among students at the University in international development issues, based on class registrations, clubs and research projects," Wallace said. "We also saw an incredible gap in the curriculum, which had relegated the topic of development to particular departments, such as economics and anthropology. But you can't understand the economic development of a location without multiple perspectives."

To read the complete article, go to http://www.virginia.edu/uvatoday/newsRelease.php?id=8496#.

We the People Finishes in Top Ten

This year's We the People team finished in the top ten in the national competition! The top three spots went to Colorado, Alabama, and California.

This was Matt McGuire's first year coaching the team, and here are the student participants:

• Unit One: Kaitlan Lawrence, Nitya Rao, & Danny Yates
• Unit Two: Thomas Howard, Ana Martinez de Andino, & Ashley Taylor
• Unit Three: Casey Cordry, Conor Farrell, & Hillary Hurd
• Unit Four: Kevin Xiao, Ellen Graham, Mallory Noe-Payne, & Caroline Vines
• Unit Five: Megan O’Donnell, Emma England, Abbie Pettigrew
• Unit Six: Leaf Elhai, Cory Hoogakker, and Peter Slag

Congratulations to all on a job well done!

Spring Concerts: Music In The Movies

from Smoke & Scales:

On April 29th & 30th, 7pm, the Maggie Walker Governor's School Music Department presents "Music in the Movies"! Please plan on joining us for two musical evenings not to be missed! The Spring Music Concert will be held on two evenings in order to showcase the many talents of our students. Please plan on attending both nights for fantastic entertainment and to show your support for all of the students. Tickets are $5 and will be sold at the door. New this year - professional audio recordings will be made each evening and CD's will be available for purchase!

4/29, Wednesday evening - Jazz ensembles
4/30, Thursday evening - Orchestra and Chorus

Sophomore and senior students are requested to "return the favor" and bring cookies for the receptions following the concerts, as the freshman and junior students supplied the desserts at the winter concert.

Spring Play: Picasso At The Lapin Agile

from Smoke & Scales:

MLWGS Drama Takes On Steve Martin on April 23-25

It's 1904--in a Paris café we find Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso, in their youth, just before each would alter the course of history. Through them, Martin's play examines the connections between art & physics and looks at the very meaning of "genius." Picasso at the Lapin Agile is about a young generation searching out the possibilities of a new century. It's the kind of thing we know at Maggie Walker.

Don't miss this irresistible comedy -- "Picasso at the Lapin Agile" runs for just three performances, and features Jerry Carlson ('09), Arun Mohge ('09), Jimmie Jarvis ('10) , and a slew of other MLWGS students.

Showtime 7:00pm, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, April 23, 24, and 25 in the MLWGS auditorium.

'05 Alumna Wins Outstanding Graduating Senior Award

from the Virginia Tech website:

BLACKSBURG, Va., April 21, 2009 -- Virginia Tech has named Ritchie Vaughan, of Richmond, Va., as the Outstanding Graduating Senior in the College of Natural Resources for the 2008-09 academic year.

Vaughan is expected to receive a bachelor’s degree in forestry in the College of Natural Resources in May 2009. She has excelled both inside and outside of the classroom, and has participated in a wide range of extracurricular, leadership, and service activities.

Among her numerous awards and scholarships, Vaughan is the recipient of the Stuermann Memorial Scholarship, the Colonial Agricultural Educational Foundation Scholarship, the Virginia Tech University Honors Award and Scholarship, and the National Merit Award and Scholarship. She has conducted undergraduate research at Virginia Tech, where she studied wetland mitigation, as well as at the Catawba Sustainability Center, located in Roanoke, Va.

Vaughan is active in a variety of extracurricular and service activities. She is a member of the Virginia Tech Wildland Fire Crew, where she held the role of assistant fire management officer in 2007. Vaughan is a former teacher’s aide for a Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship course. Vaughan has participated in many service activities, including volunteering with the Christiansburg Humane Society and The Rock Climbing Gym, contributing to the Claytor Lake State Park Forest Management Plan, assisting with trail work and maintenance in Montgomery County, and working as the Blacksburg Bicycle Cooperative’s head mechanic.

For the rest of the article, please see http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/story.php?relyear=2009&itemno=338.

Alumnus Sits on Student Panel with Bernanke

Anthony Roberts '05 was snapped in this WSJ photo when Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke visited Morehouse College.

For a write up, see http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123975237751018765.html#mod=testMod.

Alumnus Wins Emmy Award

Joey Accordino '07 traveled from Elon University to California on March 21 to accept a College Television Award from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Foundation. The Elon Student Television show “One on One Sports” took third place in the newscast category.

To see the Emmy-winning episode, click here: http://org.elon.edu/estv/videos.html.

Two Juniors Accepted Into Sorenson Institute

from Smoke & Scales:

Charlie Shobe and Callie Guy (both '10) have been accepted into the Sorenson Institute for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia for the summer High School Leaders Program.

From the Sorenson Institute website [www.sorenseninstitute.org/programs/hslp]:

The Sorensen Institute's High School Leaders Program (HSLP) offers concentrated study in Virginia politics and government for high school students from across the state. The HSLP is based on a firm belief that young people not only can make a positive difference in their communities, they should be strongly encouraged to do so. Our High School Leaders Program gives students the practical skills and political knowledge to become effective advocates in their communities and schools. Participants engage in substantive debate about the public policy challenges facing the Commonwealth and interact with Virginia's political and business leaders. The two-week HSLP is held each summer on grounds at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.

Sophomore Featured In Style Weekly

from Smoke & Scales:

Sophomore Lindsay Maguire has been selected as one of the Richmond area's most extraordinary kids for Style Weekly's 16 Under 16. She will be featured in the April 15, 2009 issue of Style Weekly.

Style Weekly is available throughout the Richmond Metro area at local Ukrop's stores, libraries, and online at: www.styleweekly.com.

Lindsay was selected for her overall accomplishments and performance at school and in the community. Lindsay has a GPA of 4.3, plays on the varsity basketball and varsity softball teams at Maggie Walker. She has been a Girl Scout for 11 years and is working on her Gold Award, (building a picnic area for the Five Lakes and Patriot's Landing community), she volunteers at the Science Museum, Caritas, Salvation Army Tree, and the Junior Assembly Cotillion. Lindsay also teaches piano and works as a lifeguard.

Senior Awarded UVA's Jefferson Scholarship

from Smoke & Scales:

Hillary Hurd has won and is accepting the prestigious Jefferson Scholarship at the University of Virginia! The Jefferson Scholarship is awarded to up to thirty students annually after a rigorous nomination and selection process. Demonstrated excellence and exceptional potential in the areas of leadership, scholarship, and citizenship are the selection criteria used. Please congratulate Hillary on all of her hard work in achieving this great honor!

GSMUN XII Hosts 350 Delegates

from Smoke & Scales:

GSMUN XII, held on March 27th and 28th, was a huge success. This is the annual conference for the Maggie Walker Model UN Club, and it is one of the largest Model UN conferences run by a high school in Virginia. This year was our largest conference yet. We had over 350 delegates from 16 different schools coming from all over the Commonwealth. It attracted students at both the high school and middle school level.

Many faculty sponsors from other schools complimented our Chairs, Officers, and Secretariat on their professionalism, enthusiasm and preparedness. They were also pleased with the topics, organization, speakers and depth of the experience. Many faculty sponsors commented that the experience surpassed those from a variety of college-hosted Model UN conferences.

In addition, the conference raised over $2,500 for Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos, which supports orphaned and abandoned children in Latin America.

We would like to thank the faculty of MLWGS as well as the administration for their tireless support. In addition, this weekend’s success could not have been possible without the assistance of Gene Roland, Deborah Snagg, Irvin Charles and a host of other volunteers.

Though dozens of MLWGS students are involved, the following were key contributors:

• Nitya Rao – Secretary-General
• Jessica Chen – Director-General
• Hannah Cockrell – Undersecretary-General External Affairs
• Frances Davenport – Undersecretary-General Logistics
• Kevin Xiao – Undersecretary-General Crisis Simulations
• Megan O’Donnell – Charge d’Affairs
• Kaitlan Lawrence – Director of General Assembly Committees
• Sabeen Ahmed – Director of Specialized Agencies
• Ellen Graham – Director of Press and Publications
• Karthik Ilukkavan – Director of Technology
• Hillary Hurd – Director of Charitable Giving
• Samantha Halle & Adrianna Scheer-Cook – Chairs, World Health Organization
• Nathaniel Mason & Tommy Surma – Chairs, Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee
• William Shimer & Adam Zedler – Chairs, Disarmament and International Security Committee
• Madison Bush & Maggie Chambers – Chairs, Ad Hoc Committee on Latin America
• Susan Ballentine & Kris Kusnerick – Chairs, International Olympic Committee
• Peter Slag & Scott Clark – Chairs, British House of Commons
• Ryan Akens – Chair, Joint Crisis – USA
• Charles Hearn – Chair, Joint Crisis – Iran
• Elsa Schultze – Chair, International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia
• Travis Hall – Press Corps

Lindsey Strachan '05 Wins ODAC Swimmer of the Year

from the Richmond Times-Dispatch:

Washington and Lee senior Lindsey Strachan, an honorable-mention All-American from Midlothian, was named swimmer of the year in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference for the second straight year. Her coach, Kami Gardner, was named coach of the year, and the Generals' Lauren Starnes was chosen as rookie of the year. Strachan won the 200 backstroke in an ODAC-record 2:05.71 and the 200 butterfly in the conference meet. Starnes won the 200 and 500 freestyle in the league meet, and Gardner led the Generals to their 19th ODAC title.

MISTER Maggie Walker 2009 Results

from Smoke & Scales:

Norris Guncheon won the coveted title of "Mr. Maggie Walker. He wore tennis attire for sportswear, sang and played Tiptoe Through the Tulips on the ukulele as his talent, and wore a top hat with his formalwear. Ramin Haidari took second place, and Travis McCall took third.

This year's contestants for were Seniors Ramin Haidari, London Reinhard, and Jason Oh; Juniors Travis McCall, Norris Guncheon, and Ted Westrick; Sophomores Jonathan Kim and Jack Miller; and Freshman Matt Pittman.

All competed in three categories: sportswear, talents, and formalwear.

The judges were Mr. White, Senior Lindsey Toiaivao, Junior Rose Werner, Sophomore Cheta Emba, and Freshman Meg McMahon. SCA Co-Presidents Scott Clark and Charles Hearn were the hosts and announcers. (The event was organized by the SCA and was free to attend.)

This is the third year of this highly entertaining event and the first year that the title has been awarded to a junior.

Senior Seminar Team Wins Model Judiciary

from Smoke & Scales:

We are pleased to congratulate the Law Senior Seminar students in winning the Model Judiciary Program competition.

Megan O’Donnell and Madelaine Spangler made the actual presentation before the Virginia Supreme Court, with LeTonia Kelley, Arun Moghe, Sheria Pettis, Meredith Ritko, Carson Wang and Courtney Wynn instrumental in case law research in preparation for the final round.

We would also like to thank our assigned attorney, John Erbach from the Williams Mullin law firm, who provided valuable time and assistance in working with the Law Senior Seminar students. Kudos to Dayna Paxton (Law Seminar instructor) and Matt McGuire for their contributions in preparing these students throughout the various stages of this mock trial competition.

More info on the MLWGS Senior Seminar/Mentorship program: www.gsgis.k12.va.us/ourdepartments/seniorseminars.html.

Students Place at Metro Richmond Science Fair

from Smoke & Scales:

The Metro Richmond Science Fair (an affiliate of the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair) was held at Powhatan High School on March 20&21.

Recognized MLWGS students include:

• Anthony Hennig ('11) - 1st place Earth & Space Science, US Navy Research Prize, Astronomy Society Prize and selected as alternate to the culminating ISEF competition (held this year in Reno, NV), should one of the fair's two overall awardees not attend
• Leon Hu ('11) - 3rd place Microbiology and the Stockholm Water Prize
• Emily Ko ('11) - 3rd place Chemistry
• Ishani Premaratne ('11) - 3rd place Medicine & Health
• Evan Wang ('11) - 3rd Environmental Science
• Margaret Benson ('11) - Honorable Mention Engineering
• Michael Viray ('11) - Honorable Mention Chemistry

Because of his first place category win with his project, "The Effect of the Entry Angle of a Projectile on the Amount of Ejecta Expelled," Anthony will be competing at the state ISEF competition at George Mason University on April 3&4 for a possible invitation to the fair in Reno.

English Teachers Attend Gilder Lehrman Institute

from Smoke & Scales:

This summer Lisa Williams will attend a seminar on “Jim Crow and the Fight for American Citizenship” at Yale University, and Sherri Arnold will attend “The Sixties: A Historical Perspective” at Georgetown University.

These weeklong seminars provide opportunities for collaborative learning and the context for developing practical resources and strategies to take back to the classroom.

Each summer since 1994, the Gilder Lehrman Institute has offered selected teachers the opportunity to devote a week of intensive study with distinguished experts of such subjects as George Washington, slavery, Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War, Reconstruction, the Cold War, and the civil rights movement.

Field House Project Progress Report

from Smoke & Scales:

In February, the Regional School Board approved the PTSA's request for a feasibility study for the construction of a field house that would include bathrooms, concessions, ticket booth, and first aid treatment area. PTSA President Belle Bronner assembled a committee of talented current and alumni parents to lead this project. The project chair is Sandy Whitehead.

A field house was originally planned as part of the Maggie Walker renovation but never constructed because of insufficient funding. The PTSA and Athletic Boosters have committed funds for the feasibility study.

The Governor's School Foundation is collecting donations honoring Mr. Hunt that, at his request, will be directed to this project.