PUPILS IN THE SPOTLIGHT

PUPILS IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Trip to Washington
BOARDMAN -- Mark Motheral, a pupil at Boardman Center Middle School, was selected to attend the recent Junior National Young Leaders Conference in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the nonprofit Congressional Youth Leadership Council."The Legacy of American Leadership" included activities and presentations by leaders with an examination of notable American leaders and the impact of leadership through critical periods of American history. Attendees also visited to historical landmarks including Colonial Williamsburg.
All-American Scholar
AUSTINTOWN -- Merissa Ann Durda, a student at Austintown's Fitch High School, has been named an All-American Scholar by the United States Achievement Academy. Criteria are a grade point average of 3.3 or higher and selection by a school instructor or other qualified sponsor.Merissa is the daughter of Michael and Robbin Durda of Austintown.
Rensselaer Medal
BOARDMAN -- Alexandra Fuentes has received a Rensselaer Medal. The Boardman High School senior was recognized as the school's single most promising science and math student during her junior year.As a winner, if Alexandra chooses to enroll at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., she'll receive a $60,000, four-year scholarship from the school.She is the daughter of Evelyn Jones, who also earned a Rensselaer Medal when she was a high school junior at Woodrow Wilson High School in Youngstown, and the stepdaughter of Douglas Jones.
COLLEGE HAPPENINGS
Dolan Center opening
CLEVELAND -- John Carroll University kicks off the grand opening celebration of the $66.4 million Dolan Center for Science and Technology at 5 p.m. Friday with a ribbon cutting and free event with tours, food, entertainment and fun to include a light show extravaganza.The 265,000-square-foot Dolan Center was built using environmentally friendly methods, in part, with a $20 million donation from the Dolan Children's Foundation. It will house biology, chemistry, psychology, physics, mathematics and computer science departments. The center also will assist start-up ventures and research-oriented companies and offer courses to teachers. Call (216) 397-1886 or visit www.jcu.edu.
Africana Studies reception
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Africana Studies Program at Youngstown State University is sponsoring a reception at 4 p.m. Wednesday for new and returning black students, leaders, organizations and faculty members. The event outside Kilcawley Center includes a cookout, entertainment, orientation and faculty presentations. A poetry slam and fashion show -- both open to the public -- will follow at 5:30 p.m. in Kilcawley Center's Chestnut Room. Call (330) 941-3097.
Lecture series at SLU
GROVE CITY, Pa. -- A lecture series on "Alexis de Tocqueville and the American Character" will be presented at Slippery Rock University at 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday and Sept. 9 to 11 by Harvard University's Kenan Professor of Government Harvey Mansfield. Each lecture will be in Sticht Lecture Hall in the Hall of Arts and Letters on campus.The series is funded by a grant from the Earhart Foundation of Ann Arbor, Mich.
EDUCATOR NEWS
Chemistry conference
NEWTON FALLS -- Newton Falls High School science teacher Paul Layshock of Warren attended the 65th annual New England Association of Chemistry Teachers Summer Conference at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn.Participants in the four-day Culinary Chemistry event saw presentations on topics such as food additives and the chemistry of flavor, taste and smell. They also participated in workshops on analyzing food nutrition with spectrophotometers and chromatographs.