Every year, the Presidential Scholarship Program recognizes select high school students for their academic and artistic achievements. This year, two of Hillsborough’s seniors, Joyce Lu and Tharun Karipireddy, have been selected to apply for this prestigious scholarship.

There are many factors that can contribute to a student’s nomination for the scholarship. Students may be selected based on their SAT or ACT scores, which is why both Lu and Karipireddy were considered, or for their artistic endeavors or technical achievements.

This year, Lu and Karipireddy were two of 4,000 students from all across the country who were honored with the nomination.

Both Lu and Karipireddy were surprised when they first heard the news.

“I had no idea such a distinction even existed,” Karipireddy said. But when asked how it will impact the rest of his high school career, he assured that he will continue to work just as hard as he always does.

Lu had a slightly different reaction to hearing the news.

“I was really surprised,” Lu said. “At first, I thought there had been a mistake because it’s pretty competitive.”

The White House Commission on Presidential Scholars doesn’t make its final decision until May. Out of the 4,000 students who are nominated, only 161 scholars are chosen. Since one male and one female student from each state are chosen, we’re all hoping that Lu and Karipireddy make HHS proud and are chosen as the New Jersey winners.