Date:   July 16, 2004 
Contact: Irene Cromer
703-791-8720 

The valedictorians of Prince William County Public Schools’ Class of 2004 leave their schools with a record of achievement in addition to the highest academic honors.  The students will continue to pursue their studies in engineering, international trade, medicine, history, political science or law at universities in Washington, D.C., Virginia, New Jersey, Connecticut, and New York.  The valedictorians and their schools are listed below.

Noah Sturcken, valedictorian of Brentsville District High School, attended Nokesville Elementary and Brentsville District Middle School.  Active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, he is involved in his church youth group where he plays the guitar.  He also has traveled to Mexico on a church mission trip to help with an orphanage there.

At Brentsville, Sturcken was a member of the marching band, played football, and was in the National Honor Society.  He attended Boy’s State and the Governor’s School for Russian.  In the fall he will study engineering at Cornell University. 

Philip Andrew Olson, III, Gar-Field High School, attended Springwoods Elementary School and Woodbridge Middle School.  A National Merit Scholarship Finalist and a recipient of many Principal’s Medals for achievements in leadership, academics, scholarships, and mathematics, he graduated with a grade point average of 4.773 and an International Baccalaureate diploma.  A member of the It’s Academic Team, Olson was the only student in Prince William County to participate in the United States of America Mathematical Olympiad.  He was selected for the All Virginia Symphonic Band and was a section leader and drum major in the marching band.  Olson was also a member of the National Honor Society, Key Club and the Crew Team and received the prestigious Robert C. Byrd scholarship.  Most recently, he earned the rank of Eagle Scout.  Olson will attend Yale University in the fall. 

DeCarol Davis, Forest Park High School, was a member of the Student Council, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Spanish Honor Society, Band and Drama Club.  She was treasurer of both the National Honor Society and Senior Class.  She attended the Governor’s School for the Humanities, received the Spanish and Math Award, and was named Marine Student Athlete.  She is active in her church gospel choir and volunteers at Prince William Forest Park.  She attended Henderson Elementary School and Saunders Middle School and was accepted to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy where she will major in mechanical engineering.

Banafsheh Fathieh, C.D. Hylton High School, will study business finance/accounting at Georgetown University on a $120,000 scholarship in the fall.  Last year her sister Reyhaneh was the valedictorian at Hylton.  A product of Prince William County Public Schools, she attended Minnieville Elementary School and Beville Middle School.  Her grade point average is 4.472.  Fathieh worked on the Red Ribbon Week campaign, volunteered at SERVE, was an HIV/AIDS trainer, and was involved in the Prudential Youth Leadership service project. 

At Hylton she served in leadership positions, Model United Nations, secretary-general and PWMUN secretary-general; Student Council Association, vice-president of the junior and senior class; Muslim Student Association, treasurer; “A World of Difference,” peer trainer; Spanish Honor Society, president; and Key Club, president.  Fathieh was also a member of the National Honor Society and Interact!  An AP Scholar, she received Academic Letters throughout high school, was a delegate at Virginia Girl’s State and a top ten finalist for Youth Salute and is a nominee in Who’s Who of America. 

Fathieh is the recipient of the National Council of Teacher’s Writing Achievement Award, Presidential Educational Excellence Award, William and Mary Leadership Award, and Virginia Young Readers Achievement Award.  She hopes to become a corporate/international trade lawyer.

Kristin Milot attended Prince William’s Mountain View Elementary School, Marsteller Middle School, and graduated from Stonewall Jackson High School.  She received varsity letters in cross country, indoor and outdoor track, and was named to the Washington Post’s Prince William Extra’s All-Area team and Manassas Journal Messenger’s All-Area team.  She was captain of the cross-country team, received the Raider Award for Indoor Track and Cross-Country, and was a Lee-Davis Invitational Champion.  Milot will attend the University of Virginia and plans to major in engineering and continue her interest in track and cross-country.

The International Baccalaureate (IB) English 9 Student of the Year, Milot was named the IB Chemistry and AP Government Student of the Year, inducted into the National Spanish Honor Society, and received the Math Recognition Award in her sophomore year.  During her junior year, Milot was inducted into the National Honor Society and the National Council of Youth Leadership’s Youth Salute program, received the IB History, Anthropology, and Spanish Student of the Year Awards, and Math Recognition.  In her senior year, she received a National Merit Scholar Commendation, the Dawn Wilbourne and Chris White awards, IB Environmental Systems, History and English awards, and math recognition.  Milot was a mentor for the One of Us Freshman Orientation program, a writer for the school newspaper, and a member of the Ecology Club.

Osbourn Park High School had two valedictorians, Phuong Dinh and Jeff Hall.  Phuong Dinh received the College of William and Mary Scholar Award, a four-year tuition scholarship.  She plans on pursuing a career in medicine.  Co-captain of the It’s Academic, she is also a member of the National Honor Society and Spanish Honor Society.  Last summer Dinh attended the Governor’s School for Humanities.  A pianist, she is involved in the Vietnamese Youth Group at her church.  Awarded Outstanding Senior in Chemistry, Social Studies, and It’s Academic Team, Dinh was the gold medalist in the Presidential Education Awards program.

Jeff Hall, co-valedictorian of Osbourn Park High School, attended Springwoods Elementary School and Woodbridge Middle School where he won the regional science fairs.  Enrolled in the Center for Environmental and Biological Sciences, Hall received the Bausch and Lomb Honorary Science Award.  Chairman of the National Honor Society and vice-president of the French Honor Society, he was a member of the indoor and outdoor track teams and cross-country team.  He was a Youth Salute nominee and attended the Governor’s School for Mathematics, Science, and Technology.  A Royal Ranger, which is similar to Boy Scouts, Hall received the Gold Medal of Achievement, equivalent to the Eagle Scout rank.  He will attend Princeton University.

Angela Kim Johnson and John Patrick Jorgenson were Potomac High School co-valedictorians at their graduation ceremony.  Angela Johnson graduated with a 4.4 grade point average.  She received numerous awards including the Potomac Leadership Award, the Marine Corps Semper Fi Academic Award, Underclassman of the Year Award in Math, Upperclassman of the Year Award in Foreign Language, Physics Student of the Year, and the Academic Achievement Award in Humanities.  She attended the Governor’s School for the Humanities, participated in the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Program, and was recognized as a Youth Salute Leader, a regional science fair winner, a winner in the County French poetry contest, and an All-County Band participant.

Johnson served in many leadership positions, including Student Body President, President of the National Honor Society, Vice-President of the French Honor Society, Yearbook Editor, and Vice-President of the Junior Civitans Club.  Selected for First-Team All-District in Cheerleading, she also was Captain of the Varsity Cheerleading Squad.  Johnson was a member of the Prince William County Youth Advisory Council and the Governor’s Youth Committee on Public Safety Awareness.  She also volunteered for the Dale City Little League Challengers Division.  This fall Johnson will attend the University of Virginia and plans to major in political science. 

John Patrick Jorgenson, the co-valedictorian at Potomac High School, was born in Barranquilla, Columbia and lived in Illinois, Florida, Australia, and Venezuela.  Jorgenson is a member of the National Honor Society and the Battalion Commander of the NJROTC.  As Commander, he was responsible for managing the daily operation of the 230-member cadet unit.  Last summer he attended the United States Naval Academy Summer Seminar.  He also participated in the American Legion Boys’ State and NJROTC Area 5 Leadership Academy.  Co-captain of the Varsity Lacrosse team, Jorgenson was selected as a Second-Team All-District Defender and participated in the All-Star Game.  Previously he was a member of the lacrosse, soccer, cross-country, and crew teams.

Jorgenson will attend the United States Military Academy at West Point where he plans to major in civil engineering. 

Caroline Spence, Woodbridge Senior High School, attended Antietam Elementary School and Lake Ridge Middle School.  A National Merit Commended Scholar, she attended the Governor’s School for Humanities and received the National Council of Teachers of English Achievement Award in Writing.  Secretary of the Beta Club and Spanish Honor Society, Spence was captain of the Academic Team, a member of the National Honor Society and on the staff of the Eddas literary magazine.  She also volunteered at Potomac Hospital.  Spence will attend the University of Virginia and plans to major in history.