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UT Tyler University Academy Student Selected from Students Nationwide as a Candidate for U.S. Presidential Scholars Program

January 27, 2020

Media Contact: Beverley Golden
Senior Director of Media Relations
Marketing and Communications
The University of Texas at Tyler
903.566.7303

The University of Texas at Tyler University Academy Tyler announced today that Tejas Narayanan, a senior, has been named one of the candidates in the 2020 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program.

Narayanan was selected from nearly 3.6 million students across the nation. Inclusion in the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program is one of the highest honors bestowed upon graduating high school seniors. Up to 161 scholars will be chosen to represent excellence in education and the promise of greatness in America’s youth.

“We are extremely proud of Tejas. He is an example of how exceptional our students are, and we look forward to the great things he will accomplish,” said Dr. Jo Ann Simmons, University Academy superintendent.

Scholars are selected based on superior academic and artistic achievements, leadership qualities, strong character and involvement in community and school activities.

“Tejas is a well-rounded student who successfully balances the schedules of school, work and extra-curricular activities, so he is certainly deserving of this honor,” said Kathy Parker, district academic counselor.

A dual credit scholar with more than 50 hours of UT Tyler credits, Tejas ranks in the top 25 percent of his graduating class. He was a Texas High School Aerospace Scholar at the NASA Johnson Space Center, where he spent six days last summer working with a team to design a human mission to Mars.

The U.S. Presidential Scholars Program was established in 1964 by Executive Order of the president to recognize some of our nation’s most distinguished graduating seniors. 

A panel of educators will review the candidates and select approximately 600 semifinalists in early April. The Commission on Presidential Scholars will select the finalists, and the U.S. Department of Education will announce the scholars in May.

A member of the prestigious UT System, The University of Texas at Tyler focuses on student success and innovative research in the more than 80 undergraduate and graduate degree programs offered to nearly 10,000 students. Classified by Carnegie as a doctoral research institution and by U.S. News and World Report as a national university, UT Tyler has campuses in Tyler, Longview, Palestine and Houston.