Dia Chawla, Pillow Academy’s 2022 valedictorian, was taking an Advanced Placement exam in physics Thursday afternoon when word arrived that she had been selected as one of Mississippi’s two Presidential Scholars.
So she didn’t know about the honor until after she had finished the test.
Only 161 graduating seniors nationwide received the designation. In Mississippi, Ritchie Hao-Zun Yang of Petal High School is the state’s other honoree.
Chawla said she’s thankful for the honor and for the support she has received from her parents, the school and the community. “This year has been absolutely fantastic,” she said.
Among its other lessons is a better developed understanding of the effort achievement requires. Accomplishment often rests, she said, on “whether or not you want something enough and whether you can go out there and actually achieve it.”
Chawla, 18, who also is a National Merit Scholar and the daughter of Gauri and Suresh Chawla of Greenwood, talked about learning that she was chosen as a Presidential Scholar. As it turns out, the news arrived only hours before baccalaureate services on Thursday night at Pillow. These were to be followed by awards day at the school and then graduation at the Leflore County Civic Center, both on Friday.
She’s not slowing down, and she plans to stay on track at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where she has been admitted for the fall.
Among other activities this summer, she will be working in the office of State Auditor Shad White.
Meanwhile, she’s mentally preparing herself for college away from family and her hometown friends. She will miss them at the university.
“I am approaching it with gratitude, for sure, and with a little bit of trepidation,” Chawla said, reflecting her understanding that one’s freshman year is a time for developing independence.
“I want to see what I can do by myself, what I can do when left to my own devices,” she said.
Chawla and the other Presidential Scholars have garnered accolades from the U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. He said in a press release, “Our 2022 Presidential Scholars represent the best of America, and remind us that when empowered by education, there are no limits to what our young people can achieve.”
The White House Commission on Presidential Scholars selects scholars annually based on their academic success, artistic and technical excellence, essays, school evaluations and transcripts, as well as a demonstrated commitment to community service and leadership.
Of the 3.7 million students expected to graduate from high school this year, more than 5,000 candidates qualified for the 2022 awards determined by outstanding performance on the College Board SAT or ACT exams or through nominations made by chief state school officers and other partner organizations. The program was created in 1964.
The 2022 U.S. Presidential Scholars include one young man and one young woman from each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and U.S. families living abroad, as well as 15 chosen at-large, 20 scholars in the arts and 20 scholars in career and technical education.
Chawla made a perfect score of 36 on the ACT and is graduating with a 4.92 grade point average. She served as president of Pillow’s student body, and she is an accomplished in tennis, basketball and dance. Her community service has included developing and teaching an ACT preparatory class for students from Greenwood High School and Pillow Academy.
- Contact Susan Montgomery at 581-7241 or smontgomery@gwcommonwealth.com.
