115 district students honored at banquet as 2025 South Carolina Junior Scholars

BEAUFORT –Beaufort County School District (BCSD) honored 115 eighth-graders for being named Junior Scholars by the South Carolina Department of Education.

The students and their parents were recognized at a Junior Scholars banquet sponsored by the Beaufort County School District. 

“These students have shown phenomenal potential, as their selection as Junior Scholars demonstrates,” said Superintendent Frank Rodriguez. “I know they will work hard on achieving their potential, and it will be our educators’ joy to support them on this journey.”

The featured speaker was Mary Ruff, a Beaufort High School senior accepted to Duke University who shared her experiences since being named a Junior Scholar in middle school. Ruff emphasized that although maintaining a high GPA is important for academic and financial opportunities, what is most important is to seek challenging environments and classes that build one’s character and leave a more lasting impact, noting that “failure and struggle are key to growth.”

The Junior Scholars Program was developed by the South Carolina Department of Education to identify eighth-graders with exceptional academic talent and to develop strategies for inclusion into special programs that facilitate intellectual growth, broaden individual interests, and promote scholastic achievement. The program includes a process for screening, identifying, and recognizing students with high scholastic achievement and intellectual ability. Eligible students include those whose PSAT/NMSQT scores are 550 or higher on the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing portion or 530 or higher on the Mathematics portion.

Students who qualify as Junior Scholars receive an award of merit from the South Carolina Department of Education as well as information regarding summer academic experiences sponsored by South Carolina colleges and universities.  They can use that special recognition to bolster their applications to colleges and universities.

This year’s BCSD Junior Scholars are:

Austin Abar

Blake Alexander

Ryan Allen

Griffin Barner

Landon Barnych

Pierce  Barrantes

Ryan Beck Ungvarsky

Owsley Best

Angel Breve Masis

Sophie Brister

Wesley Brown

Payson Brunson

Elle Bullock

Brooke Burke

Grayson Burke

Owen Carneavale

Allison Castillo Rebete

Rita Chen

Thomas Coley

Anna Constantineau

Ayden Costlow

Ella Crapps

Kyla De la Rosa

Lucas Dill

Naomi Ekiert

Evie Ellison

Henry Everhart

Jaiden Ferguson

Robert Ferguson

Austin Fillmore

Richard Ford

Kellan  Fransen

Mariah Garcia

Alexander Graham

Alexis Grissom

Breanna Hamilton

Quinton Harless

Adrianna Henn

Lucas Henn

Marily Hernandez

Joshua Hernandez Larranaga

Elaina Horne

Samuel Houchin

Cameron Jacobi

Truman Jarrett

Elena Jones

Kyle Larson

Mia Lightfoot

Cristopher Lopez Rodriguez

David Luick

Miller Magee

Adam Maldonado

Caleb   Malphrus

Jacob   Mansker

Carter  Mason

Robert Mathison

Brycen McAbee

Jackson McLin

Cadence McNerney

Rachel Mecklin

Lucas   Mikhael

Simon  Miller

Declan Mitchell

Charlotte Morgan

Aydan Mullen

Kellan  Newman

Hunter Nguyen

Phillip  Norris

Chase Norwood

Aylin Olcer

Hayden Olstynski

Ethan Ouellette

Mercy Par

James  Payne

Elliot Pearson

Nathan Peeples

Henry Pettit

Riley Pittelli

Sebastian Planell

Nia Polkey

Ramon Porter

Amelia Powell

Emily Quigley

Matias Ribera

Damien Rivers

Ramsi  Roache

Finnian Rodgers

David   Roth

Tana Saconn

Lydia Sargent

Gabriel Seronka

Jack Shave

Vivan   Shave

Chloe  Snyder

James  Sullivan

Wyatt  Sunday

Vivienne Swiger

Keyari Tieland

Emily Trish

Carson Tucker

Alexia  Valentino

Lucy Vandervorf-Johnson

Nicholas VanVreede

Yolainne Velasquez Figueroa

Ariana Vera

William Walsh

James  Watson

Austin Wiedemann

Rowan Wilson

Luke Wiser

Connor Woods

Lu Yi

Jack Zellweger

Caleb   Zuniga

Nicholas Zurakowski