We are pleased to announce the 2013 Haslam Scholars Program Finalists. Finalists visited campus last weekend for the Sixth Annual Haslam Scholars Program Interview Weekend (March 8-10) and are guaranteed a Chancellor’s Scholarship. This year, the Haslam Scholars Program reviewed hundreds of nominations and self-nominations and selected an incredibly impressive group of Semi-Finalists, all of whom received automatic admission to the highly selective Chancellor’s Honors Program (honors.utk.edu).   After a preliminary interview with the program staff and further review of their application materials, the following 30 students have been chosen as the 2013 Haslam Scholars Program Finalists.

	Alex Brito Franklin Road Academy Nashville, TN Biological Sciences Alex Brito has been a French language exchange student to Paris twice and is captain of her volleyball team and a jazz guitarist. She plans to study Neuroscience and continue her French education.
	Hayley Brundige Hunters Lane High School Nashville, TN University Exploratory Track Hayley Bundrige is an International Baccalaureate student who plays trumpet and sings. She serves as Vice President of her school’s National Honors Society.
	Esther Choo Farragut High School Knoxville, TN University Exploratory Track Esther has completed 14 AP and 14 Honors courses and plays Cello in the Knoxville Symphony Youth Orchestra. She has also assisted in research at the Scintillation Materials Research Center at UT for the past year.
	Houston Cookenour Dobyns-Bennett High School Kingsport, TN Computer Science Houston is a seasoned Tubaist who co-hosts a radio program for WCSK Radio. He plans to major in computer science with a minor in music and someday be a computer program designer and/or a music composer.
	Grant Currin Cleveland High School Cleveland, TN History Grant is the head delegate of his school’s Model United Nations delegation, and has directed a charity 5K to benefit infrastructure in Cambodia. He has also completed two half-marathons. He is ranked first in his class.
	Abby Durick Page High School Franklin, TN Wildlife and Fisheries Science Abby is a French horn player who is also interested in Spanish and Kiswahili and tennis. She plans on becoming a wildlife cinematographer and conservationist.
	Nathan Farr Webb School of Knoxville Knoxville, TN Pre-Med Nathan Farr is an Eagle scout, wrestler, and trained pilot. He hopes to study neuroscience, Spanish, and mathematics with the eventual goal of pursuing medicine.
	Robby Ferguson William Blount High School Maryville, TN Computer Engineering Robby volunteers weekly at Habitat for Humanity and plays tennis competitively, captaining his high school team for four years. He is an alumnus of the Tennessee Governor’s School for Emerging Technologies.
	Libby Fortunato Knoxville Catholic School Knoxville, TN Mechanical Engineering Libby is the leader of her high school Mock Trial team and attended Tennessee Volunteer Girls State. She has also achieved the prestigious Gold Award from the Girl Scouts.
	Ian Francis Brentwood High School Nashville, TN Mathematics Ian is Section leader of his Marching Band, a Governor’s School alumnus, and a member of Mu Alpha Theta honors society. He has taken 13 AP classes throughout high school.
	RJ Gibson Marmion Academy Batavia, Illinois Political Science RJ is on his high school’s varsity baseball and basketball teams. He enjoys writing and hopes to continue sharing his ideas with others.
	Reia Guevarra Munford High School Munford, TN Hispanic Studies Reiamari is her class’s valedictorian and enjoys music, crafts, and expressing herself creatively. She hopes to continue taking challenging courses in foreign language.
	Jasmine Jefferson White Station High School Memphis, TN Pre-med Jasmine is a National Merit Finalist and leads her school’s flute section in the marching band. She is a voracious reader and enjoys working with her hands and learning about different cultures.
	Neal Jochmann Webb School of Knoxville Knoxville, TN Electrical Engineering Neal is the head editor of his school’s literary magazine, and is actively involved in debate, theatre, and student government. He Is also passionate for writing and music, and hopes to pursue a wide range of interests in college
	Ben Knight Bearden High School Knoxville, TN Physics Ben Knight swims nearly two and half ours a day and is vice president of SGA at his school. He is also passionate about creativity, and spends much of his time writing music, painting, and composing stories.
	Laura Lauder Centennial High School Franklin, TN Political Science Laura is a multi-instrumentalist, a crew leader for her county’s Habitat for Humanity chapter. She intends to study political science with hopes of practicing international law.
	Bryson Lype Ooltewah High School Chattanooga, TN Political Science Bryson is a varsity tennis player and is active in multiple honors societies and the Rotary club. He is his class valedictorian and plans to pursue a career in law.
	Patrick McKenzie Searcy High School Searcy, AK Biological Sciences Patrick McKenzie has worked as an algebra and chemistry tutor and is editor-in-chief of his high-school yearbook. He is senior class president and hopes to pursue a career in cancer research.
	Sukriti Mohan St. Mary’s Episcopal School Memphis, TN Biological Sciences Suku is her school’s mock trial Head Attourney, and has attended both Governor’s School for International Studies and Girl’s state. She has already conducted medical research and worked in optometry and oncology in Memphis.
	Victoria Nelson Bearden High School Knoxville, TN Accounting BS Victoria has taken 12 AP or dual enrollment classes throughout high school and is an executive member of the Key Club, National Honor Society, and SGA at her high school.
	Chisom Oraedu Lausanne Collegiate School Memphis, TN Pre-Medicine Chisom is originally from Nigeria, and is a member of the Spanish Honor Society. She hopes to pursue medicine with a minor in cultural anthropology
	Caitlin Pinkard Brentwood High School Brentwood, TN Pre-Veterinary Medicine Caitlyn is captain of her school’s rugby team and is a National Merit Finalist. She is interested in psychology and veterinary medicine.
	Grant Powell Collierville High School Collierville, TN Biomedical Engineering Grant Powell was a varsity lacrosse player and cross country runner at his high school as well as an Academic All-Star.
	Colleen Ryan Cookeville High School Cookeville, TN IDP-Global Studies Colleen is editor-in-chief of her school’s newspaper and has traveled to China, Ghana, and through Western Europe. She hopes to continue her interests in foreign-policy, international development, and human rights.
	Roman Sherrod Florence High School Florence, AL Nuclear Engineering Roman has been interested in Nuclear engineering since he began high school and hopes to research at Oak Ridge National Lab. His goal is to see a commercialized fusion reactor operational within his lifetime
	Meeri Shin Walker Valley High School Cleveland, TN Pre-Medicine Meeri is a founder of her schools debate and science olympiad teams and has served as president of HOSA for the last four years. She is also a varsity soccer player and section leader of her school’s band.
	Harris Smith Smyrna High School Smyrna, TN International Studies Harris is a volunteer at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital and is a Governor’s School and Boy’s State Alumnus. He has a broad range of interests from philosophy and religion to medicine and finance.
	Anagha Uppal Halls High School Halls, TN Computer Science Anagha is proficient in five languages and is her school’s book club president. She also has conducted research in cancer treatment and is interested in software development
	Louis Varriano White Station High School Memphis, TN University Exploratory Track Louis Varriano is president of his school’s robotics team and has a great interest in energy policy and politics. He is also involved in Model United Nations and Science Olympiad.
	Katherine Wheeler Oak Ridge High School Knoxville, TN Arts and Sciences Exploratory Track Katherine is a state officer in the Technology Student Association, for which she tutors younger students and organize national meeting on technology development. She is a National Merit Finalist and a US DoE Presidential Scholar Semifinalist.