Clayton High School senior Kimberley Tran has been selected as a member of the 55th class of U.S. Presidential Scholars. She is one of only 161 seniors from across the country to earn the distinction this year.

The White House Commission on Presidential Scholars selects scholars annually based on their academic success, artistic and technical excellence, essays, school evaluations and transcripts, as well as evidence of community service, leadership and demonstrated commitment to high ideals.

Of the 3.6 million students expected to graduate from high school this year, more than 5,200 candidates qualified for the 2019 awards determined by outstanding performance on the College Board SAT and ACT exams or through nominations made by Chief State School Officers, other partner recognition organizations and the National YoungArts Foundation's nationwide YoungArts™ competition.

As directed by Presidential Executive Order, the 2019 U.S. Presidential Scholars are comprised of one young man and one young woman from each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and U.S. families living abroad, as well as 15 chosen at-large, 20 Scholars in the Arts and 20 Scholars in Career and Technical Education.

Created in 1964, the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program has honored over 7,500 of the nation's top-performing students with an annual ceremony in Washington, D.C. Kimberley will visit Washington, D.C., from June 23-25 to receive her Presidential Scholar Medallion and spend time with her fellow Presidential Scholars.

Each U.S. Presidential Scholar is also offered the opportunity to name his or her most influential teacher. Tran selected CHS English Teacher Ben Murphy for this honor. For this distinction, Murphy will receive a personal letter from the U.S. Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos.