Photo: Lowndes High School STAR Teacher Becky Martin and STAR Student Clark Rodgers.
LOWNDES CO. – Lowndes High School congratulates the 2023 Student Teacher Achievement Recognition program honorees.
Release:
Lowndes High School is pleased to announce Clark Rodgers has been named the 2023 STAR Student. The Student Teacher Achievement Recognition (STAR) program honors Georgia’s highest-achieving high school seniors and the teachers who have been most instrumental in their academic development.
To obtain the 2022 STAR nomination, graduating high school seniors must have the highest score on a single test date on the SAT and be in the top 10 percent or top 10 students of their class based on grade point average.
Rodgers qualified as a nominee with a score of 1490.
“I was shocked but excited,” said Rodgers when asked about his reaction to the news. “People told me I did good, but I had no idea how good. I am very proud of myself!”
Rodgers confidently chose Becky Martin as his STAR Teacher. Martin was Rodgers’s Advanced Placement Calculus teacher during his junior year.
“I knew Mrs. Martin was a special teacher in the first two weeks of school,” Rodgers expressed.
Martin is known for leading her students through “calculus boot camp” to solidify their foundation and be sure they are ready to master the material coming their way.
“Boot camp is intense, but it got me ready for the semester and classes to follow,” he added. “I am currently taking Calculus II at VSU, and so far, I have done circles around students much older than me thanks to Mrs. Martin’s teaching.”
Martin is equally as impressed with Rodgers and says she is honored to have been selected as his STAR Teacher.
“I identified Clark as a leader from the beginning,” Martin stated. “He is very interested in helping others be successful. Instead of being competitive, he truly wants everyone to win.”
Martin also identified Rodgers as an eager and motivated student, which is apparent in his school involvement and continued education.
In addition to Calculus II, he has taken a variety of other academic courses through dual enrollment, most notably Japanese.
“I just wanted to learn something different!” Rodgers exclaimed when asked about his foreign language.
Despite only physically being on campus at LHS for one class each day, Clark continues to stay involved. He holds leadership positions in the Technology Student Association, Quiz Bowl, Math Club, and Math Team.
After graduation, he hopes to attend the Georgia Institute of Technology and earn a degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance to eventually land a job at an asset management firm.
Rodgers and Martin will attend a regional banquet for all STAR Students and Teachers. The student with the highest test score will go on to the state competition.
