House Resolution 80

(As Adopted by House)

A RESOLUTION COMMENDING AND CONGRATULATING PAUL GREEN OF HATTIESBURG FOR HIS SELECTION AS A NATIONAL MERIT FINALIST AND FOR HIS MANY OTHER OUTSTANDING ACADEMIC AND EXTRACURRICULAR ACHIEVEMENTS.

WHEREAS, Paul Green, a senior at Hattiesburg High School, was recently named as a National Merit Finalist, an academic honor that was achieved by only about 15,000 of the more than 1.5 million students who participated in the 56th annual National Merit Scholarship Program; and

WHEREAS, in order to be selected as a National Merit Finalist, a student must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by the high school principal, and earn SAT scores that confirm the student's earlier performance on the qualifying test; and

WHEREAS, those academically talented high school seniors who are named National Merit Finalists have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 8,400 National Merit Scholarships, worth more than $36 million, that will be offered this spring; and

WHEREAS, throughout his high school career, Paul has compiled an outstanding record in all aspects of academics, earning a GPA of 4.07 on a 4.0 point scale, taking two classes at USM when he ran out of high school math classes, achieving a composite ACT score of 35 of a possible 36 and SAT scores of 800 in math, 740 in reading and 780 in writing, and being a College Board AP Honors Scholar, and he is currently ranked first in his class of 261 students; and

WHEREAS, not only is he a star in the classroom, Paul has also been an active participant in a variety of extracurricular activities, including being a member of the high school debate team in Grades 9 through 12, where he won the State Championship in the MHSAA Lincoln-Douglas debate in the 11th grade, placed first in the Lincoln-Douglas debate at every state tournament in the 12th grade, compiled the highest number of National Forensics League points on the team and 3rd overall in the state, competed in events at Harvard, Wake Forest, and Emory Universities, and was named as a National Forensics League Academic All American; and

WHEREAS, Paul is also a talented musician who has been a member of the Southern Mississippi Youth Orchestra, a regional youth orchestra for advanced orchestra performers, each year since the 7th grade, being a soloist in the 10th grade and Concertmaster in the 11th grade, also a member of the High School Chamber Orchestra, the highest level school orchestra, in Grades 9 through 12, being a soloist in the 12th grade and Concertmaster in the 11th and 12th grades, a member of the 4-person chamber group, and he was selected to the All-State Orchestra; and

WHEREAS, Paul has also been involved in the Theatre Department in roles both in the spotlight and behind the scenes, in the Vulcan Orienteering Club where he competed in local and national orienteering meets, in the Boy Scouts of America, and he was a member of the swim team for three years; and

WHEREAS, Paul already has so many outstanding accomplishments in academics and the numerous other activities in which he has participated, and he appears to be destined to achieve many more great things and become a leader of the future; and

WHEREAS, it is the policy of the House of Representatives to commend excellence, especially when evidenced by young Mississippians such as Paul Green, whose many outstanding achievements both inside and outside the classroom bring honor to himself, his school, his community and the State of Mississippi:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we commend and congratulate Paul Green for his selection as a National Merit Finalist and for his many other outstanding academic and extracurricular achievements, and we wish him much success in all of his future endeavors.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to Paul Green, Hattiesburg High School and members of the Capitol Press Corps.