House Concurrent Resolution 134

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION COMMENDING EVAN LITTLETON TURNAGE FOR HIS MANY OUTSTANDING AND EXEMPLARY ACADEMIC AND SOCIAL ACHIEVEMENTS AND EXTENDING BEST WISHES FOR HIS CONTINUED SUCCESS.

WHEREAS, Evan Littleton Turnage, a promising senior of Murrah High School 2010 Class boasting a 4.6 grade point average, has earned the distinguished honor of being the class valedictorian; and

WHEREAS, he is also honored to be graduating as a National Achievement Finalist and Murrah's 2010 Star Student; and

WHEREAS, Evan, the son of Ellie Fortner Turnage and Ellis Turnage, has exemplified the characteristics and tenets as an academic scholar in all of his educational pursuits since early childhood; and

WHEREAS, his superior intellectual abilities became apparent as a young child at Hayes Cooper Center and at New Hope Christian School during his first through sixth grade school years, when he scored all As in all subjects, made perfect scores on Stanford Achievement Tests and rated at post high school levels on math and reading scores; and

WHEREAS, as a seventh and eighth grade student at Saint Joseph Catholic School, he achieved the highest score for the seventh grade Talent Identification Program (TIP) Scholars and the highest score in Mississippi on the Scholastic Aptitude Exam, garnered the Academic Excellence Award for the highest grade in English, Literature, Band, Algebra 1 and Social Studies, scored a 23 on the ACT at age 12 and earned all As in all subjects during his tenure there; and

WHEREAS, most recently, he has scored an amazing 34 on the ACT, an impressive 2140 on the SAT and has continued to achieve all As in all subjects during his tenure at Murrah High School; and

WHEREAS, heavily recruited by hundreds of colleges, he has been admitted to Harvard University, Yale University, Morehouse College and Howard University, the only four schools to which he applied; and

WHEREAS, award recognition is no stranger to Evan at Murrah High School as he has been awarded in excess of 15 Certificates of Award for earning the highest grade in his senior English I & II, Biology I & II, Chemistry, Geometry, Spanish, Health, Accounting, Geography, World History, Fine Arts, Business Law, Pre-Calculus and United States History; and

WHEREAS, Evan has not limited his academic pursuits to the classroom, he is also a fierce competitor who has achieved first place in the History Day Competition Quiz Bowl at the University of Mississippi, placed in the top 1% in math at Mississippi College Math and Science Competition, represented Murrah High School superbly in New York City to receive the College Scholastic Board Award; and

WHEREAS, he also found time to perform Base Pair research in the area of Gynecology in the lab of Dr. Babbette LaMarca; and

WHEREAS, Evan exhibited tremendous leadership skills since early childhood, from holding the positions of Mr. New Hope in the fifth and sixth grades, to serving as Assistant Editor of the Yearbook and Ambassador to Mississippi Hugh O'Brien Youth Leadership Seminar in the eleventh grade, to holding his current leadership positions as President of the Mu Alpha Theta Math Club and Copy Editor of the Yearbook; and

WHEREAS, in the spirit of being an extraordinary young man, Evan not only cares about his academic and career pursuits, he cares about his community and this great state by participating in the annual trip to Stewpot Ministries on Christmas Eve, tutoring middle school students in algebra and tutoring high school students in United States history; and

WHEREAS, it is the policy of this Legislature to recognize and commend the excellent academic and social achievements of our young people, who work hard in their lives to achieve excellence in their academic pursuits and in their community involvements:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE SENATE CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby commend Evan Littleton Turnage for his many outstanding and exemplary academic and social achievements and extend best wishes for continued success in all of his future endeavors.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to Evan Littleton Turnage and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.