Blanchet

Best
Academics
Mara Hanawalt attends
Girls State
Junior Mara Hanawalt attended the American
Legion Girls State program held at Willamette
University in June. Girls State participants take part
in mock government, including being a member of
6
the state congress, engaging in a mock
trial and running for statewide office.
Also, participants at Girls State are
visited by numerous speakers from the
state government including the president
of the senate, the speaker of the house
and the secretary of state.
Mara learned about Girls State as a
member of Blanchet’s speech and debate team. After giving
a speech for the American Legion High School Oratorical
Contest, auxiliary members encouraged Mara to consider
Girls State and very generously offered to sponsor her to
attend the program. “Because of their support, I had the
opportunity to benefit from a once in a lifetime experience,”
commented Mara. “Girls State was an incredible opportunity
where I had the chance to get to know many smart,
outspoken, kind and inspirational young women from many
backgrounds,” she added.
In April, 125 Blanchet students
participated in the American
Mathematics Competition.
Sophomore Justin Chen scored a
100.5 on the AMC 10 (the national
average is 65.2) and qualified to compete at the
state level in May at the University of Oregon.
Justin swept the state competition, finishing in
first place at the Algebra 2 level!
Andre’ Wyatt - National Merit
commended student
Blanchet graduate Andre’ Wyatt
was named a Commended
Student in the 2009 National
Merit Scholarship Program and
joins 19 other Blanchet students
who have been honored by this
prestigious organization.
Andre’ earned the title of
Commended Student by placing among the top
five percent of more than 1.5 million students
who entered the 2009 competition by taking the
Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship
Qualifying Test.
Additionally, Andre’ was honored in May as a
Statesman Journal Academic All Star and was the
Class of 2009 Valedictorian.
hillary brandaw - Pre-College Program
As Hillary Brandaw looks
forward to enjoying her
senior year, she is also
focused on life beyond
high school. “While the
thought of being a senior
is very exciting, it also