Youth News for Friday, Sept. 14, 2012

The National Merit Scholarship Corp., an independent nonprofit scholarship organization based in Evanston, Ill., has released its list of 2013 National Merit semifinalists.

Listed below are Baton Rouge and Lafayette area students included on that list.

A list of 2012 National Achievement semifinalists will be coming soon.

Students were selected based on their scores on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying test.

As usual, The Advocate plans to recognize these students in the future with pages including their photos, college choices, intended majors and parents, to the extent the information is available.

The newspaper will begin contacting campuses after the National Achievement list comes out.

National Merit semifinalists:

• Baton Rouge Magnet High School — Ikechi I. Akujobi, Jeremy C. Alcanzare, Caroline G. Berlin, Lori Ding, Emily Gu, Sarah A. Hahn, Daniel J. Hulgan, Adarsh S. Jones, Grace M. Leyrer, Xinyu Liang, Chandler B. McArthur, Leo T. Park, Taylor S. Spicer, Carsten R. Sprunger, Zoe Swarzenski, Xinnan Xu, Stacy Yang, Anni Zhang, Rufei Zhou.
• Catholic High School — Mark R. Babin, Hunter J. Dupre, Austin A. Lala, Taylor J. Lemoine, Kevin M. Ortego, Brice A. Polito.
• Episcopal High School — Caroline R. Goodner, Benjamin A. Hausmann, Taylor LeBlanc, Nicholas B. Leo, Elizabeth Prutz.
• McKinley High School — Mario M. Alegre, Simon G. Lorenzo.
• Parkview Baptist High School — Tyler M. Causey.
• The Runnels School — Burl E. Forgey, Joshua C. Manning, Isaac M. Phillips.
• St. Joseph’s Academy — Mary C. Balhoff, Ashley Curran, Caroline M. Focht, Mary A. Fuselier, Rachael N. Giles, Molly R. Magill, Margaret A. Miller, Margaret C. Talbot, Elaine M. Turk.
• St. Michael The Archangel High School — Erin M. Carcel, Sean G. Polozola.
• University Laboratory School — Maura B. Cadigan, Luke F. O’Quinn.
• Episcopal School Of Acadiana, Broussard — Tatum F. Swize.
• Silliman Institute, Clinton — Payton H. Bruckmeier, Marion L. Russell.
• Dutchtown High School, Geismar — Yeheun Y. Jun.
• Academy Of The Sacred Heart, Grand Coteau — Hannah C. Dakin.
• Lafayette High School — Frances E. Brumley, Rachel B. Fife, Nikka Y. Khorsandi, Adam R. Lapucha, Kaleb Lee, Wil H. Perkins, Alec T. Stewart.
• Zachary High School — Allison R. Burton.

Shoes collected for Nigeria

Shakera Sharee Smith, 8, a third-grader at Redemptorist Elementary School, inspired by something she saw on the Disney Channel, has collected more than 300 pairs of shoes for children in Africa, said Cheryl Hawkins, the girl’s grandmother.

Shakera began by asking for shoe donations at the summer reading program she attended at The Beech Grove Baptist Church Children’s Defense Fund Freedom School and word spread drawing shoe and cash donations, Hawkins said.

Bishop Chimezie Agu, a native Nigerian who Hawkins knew through her church, Living Faith Christian Center, is arranging through his Life of Faith Ministries to send to shoes to Nigeria later this month, Hawkins said.

Shakera is the daughter of Shabrion Hawkins and Darren Smith.

Youth to advise the mayor

East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Kip Holden is looking for young leaders to advocate on behalf of the youth in the parish by serving on the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council.

The council of 11th-grade representatives from every high school in the parish will work with community leaders to create a shared vision of a Baton Rouge that values its youth.

This year, council members also will develop a youth-led, peer awareness campaign to promote healthy living.

To download an application or for more information, visit https://brgov.com/dept/mayor/myac/ or contact Kia Bickham, chief service officer at (225) 389-3100 or via email kbickham@brgov.com. Applications are due by Wednesday.

Submit youth news to teen@theadvocate.com or fax (225) 388-0351. By submitting photos to The Advocate, you agree that they can be published in any of The Advocate’s print or digital publications.