Westfield High School Senior Named Presidential Scholar

The United States Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced a Westfield High School student had been named a 2015 Presidential Scholar.

Jorge Ledesma was one of 141 high school students across the country selected as a Presidential Scholar. He demonstrated outstanding academic achievement, artistic excellence, leadership, citizenship, service and contribution to school and the community, according to officials from Westfield Public Schools.

Ledesma will be honored with the distinction in Washington, D.C., June 21 through 23. According to school officials, one young man and one young woman from each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and from U.S. families living abroad, as well as 15 chosen at-large and 20 U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts make up the 2015 U.S. Presidential Scholars. Each year 141 students are named as Presidential Scholars.

“Presidential Scholars demonstrate the accomplishments that can be made when students challenge themselves, set the highest standards, and commit themselves to excellence,” Duncan said. “As you accept this recognition for your accomplishments, I call on you to remember the importance of serving your community and your nation with what you learn,” Duncan said in a letter written to Ledesma.

Ledesma has compiled a multitude of achievements in his tenure at Westfield High School, including earning perfect scores in math, reading, writing, physics and math 2 on the SAT, a widely used exam for college admission criteria. Additionally, he has taken 11 Advanced Placement courses, was named as a National Merit scholarship finalist and was recognized as one of the “top young writers in the country” by The Scholastic Arts and Writing Awards, according to officials from Westfield Public Schools.

“We wish Jorge continued success in all his endeavors. He is a remarkable and compassionate student,” Westfield Public Schools Superintendent Margaret Dolan said in a release.

Ledesma will be attending Harvard University in the fall and plans to pursue degrees in government/political science and philosophy, with minors in creative writing and economics. He hopes to one day become a Supreme Court Justice, school district officials said.

The United States Presidential Scholars Program was founded in 1964 and recognizes the nation’s most distinguished graduating high school seniors. The program was expanded to include students who excelled in the visual, creative and performing arts in 1979.

(Photo courtesy of Westfield Public Schools)