By Avanti Chajed

Gargoyle staff reporter


Posted Monday, May 7, 2007, The OG, news & student awards

EACH MAY FOR the past 22 years, the Chicago Tribune has announced its All-State Academic Team.

Consisting of 10 high school seniors from throughout Illinois, the team honors students who have shown academic achievement as well as involvement in extracurricular activities that demonstrate well-rounded interests. Each of the honorees receives a $2,000 scholarship from the Chicago Tribune Foundation.

Last year, Katie Carmody of Uni High's Class of 2006 was named one of the 10 All-State Team members.

This year, Annie Liang of Uni's Class of 2007 was named one of 70 All-State regional finalists. The finalists and the 10 team members chosen from those students were announced in Sunday's Tribune.

To compete, a student must be nominated by his or her school; nominations are limited to one student per school. This year the Tribune received 204 entries.

The Tribune divides the state into seven regions; Liang was one of 10 finalists in Region 5 (East Central Illinois).

According to the Tribune, the entries “were judged by educators, community leaders and education advocates. They gave each application a numerical score based on their grades and test scores, activities that show leadership and commitment to their communities, and a creative essay that had to include, among other elements, a famous painter or sculptor, a character from a John Steinbeck novel and an important person in American history.”

Liang's accomplishments include being named a National Merit Semifinalist and a National AP Scholar. She was also an important member of Uni's chess team and played volleyball. Liang is the current executive vice president of Student Council. She was a semifinalist in the 2006 Iris Chang Memorial Essay Contest, which honored the memory of the late 1985 Uni graduate who wrote the best-selling “Rape of Nanking.”

Four Uni students have been named to the Tribune's All-State Team in recent years: Carmody (2006), Valerie Ross (2004), Meera Sekar (2001) and Amy Chew (1999).

The late Casey Banas, who was an education writer for the Tribune, founded the team to honor students whose achievements are often overshadowed by all-star athletes.

Liang plans to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and study economics.

RELATED

— 2007 Gargoyle coverage: Annie Liang nominated as Uni's candidate for Tribune All-State Academic Team

— 2006 Gargoyle coverage: Chicago Tribune names Katie Carmody to All-State Academic Team

— 2006 Gargoyle coverage: At the top of her game: A profile of Katie Carmody

— External link: Chicago Tribune's 2007 All-State Academic Team