Senior Daniel J. Kim has been named a 2009 Presidential Scholar, making him the third Harker Presidential Scholar since 2006. This marks the first year Harker has had two semifinalists in the Presidential Scholar selection process; Vikram Nathan, Gr. 12 was also a semifinalist.

Kim has been invited to Washington, D.C., where he and other scholars from around the country and abroad will be presented with a Presidential Scholar medallion during National Recognition Week in June.

Harker’s previous two Presidential Scholars were Senan Ebrahim ’08 and Samantha Fang ’06, who was named a Scholar of the Arts.

Each year the U.S. Department of Education names one male and one female Scholar, from each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. In addition, two students are selected from families living abroad, 15 students are chosen at large and 20 are chosen who specialize in visual and performing arts.

About 3,000 academic candidates are eligible based on evaluation of their College Board SAT or ACT Assessment scores. Students interested in joining the arts portion of the Presidential Scholar program must register for youngARTS, a program by the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, which then nominates students as Presidential Scholars.