Majority of state's brightest Flinn Scholars choose ASU
Maggie Tucker had her pick of schools. The senior from Mountain View High School in Mesa had been accepted at Boston College, the College of William & Mary and the University of Chicago, but it was Arizona State University that won her over.
The two key factors? Winning a Flinn Scholarship – she is one of 21 honorees for 2015 – and ASU’s Barrett, the Honors College.
“Prestigious universities offer a name. The Flinn offered me a community, a legacy and a responsibility to improve my home state,” said Tucker, who plans to major in business.
The Flinn Scholarship – valued at more than $115,000 – aims to encourage Arizona’s best students to attend one of the state’s three public universities. It provides eight semesters of undergraduate tuition and fees, room and board, funding for international study-related travel and professional development, support for an off-campus internship, faculty mentoring and other benefits. The Flinn Foundation offers it through a partnership with the universities.
Fifteen of the latest class of recipients will be freshman at ASU in August; 14 of those, including Tucker, are enrolled in Barrett.
“The Flinn Scholarship is instrumental in helping ASU fulfill its mission of providing access and opportunity to our state’s best and brightest students,” said Barrett dean Mark Jacobs. “Investing in these students now means an investment in the future of our state, as their intellect and energy contributes to the greater good of Arizona.”
The generous scholarship affords the recipients the freedom and opportunity to expand their education.
“Although I have a clear idea of the woman I want to become, my interests are endless,” said Tucker, whose fascinations range from geopolitics and history to cosmology, and whose high school activities ranged from leading Model United Nations to volunteering at Hospice of the Valley.
“With the resources of ASU and the activating nature of the Flinn, I have the ability to explore all facets for my education. I can be a Renaissance woman.”
This year’s awardees, chosen from a field of 760 applicants, mark the 30th class of Flinn Scholars. Recipients typically have a minimum 3.5 grade-point average, rank in the top 5 percent of their high school graduating class, have a minimum score of 1300 on the SAT or 29 on the ACT, and have demonstrated community involvement and leadership abilities.
“The incoming class of Flinn Scholars carries on the tradition of our state’s brightest students choosing to receive a world-class education at an Arizona university,” said Jack B. Jewett, Flinn Foundation president and CEO.
In addition to Tucker, the Flinn Scholars headed to ASU are:
• Eric Arellano, Catalina Foothills High School, Tucson
• Mia Armstrong, BASIS charter school, Flagstaff
• Jonathon Barkl, Sandra Day O’Connor High School, Phoenix
• Lexi Darby, Westwood High School, Mesa
• Scott Fitsimones, Arizona School for the Arts, Phoenix
• Emily Giel, Desert Vista High School, Phoenix
• Craig Johnson, Tucson Magnet High School, Tucson
• Ruby Kerwin, University High School, Tucson
• Grant Laufer, Mountain View High School, Mesa
• Rafael Lopez, South Mountain High School, Phoenix
• John Patterson, Corona Del Sol High School, Tempe
• Mary Saxon, Westwood High School, Mesa
• Bharath Tata, Hamilton High School, Chandler
• Ben Trumpinski, Cienega High School, Vail