Poplar Bluff High School is sending a student to the exclusive Missouri Scholars Academy for the second year in a row. 

Incoming junior Lauren Robertson is one of 330 gifted students statewide to be accepted into the academic residential program beginning on Saturday, June 9, at the University of Missouri campus in Columbia. 

“Lauren is an outstanding student whose skills and potential are unlike anything I’ve seen,” stated Stephen Patty, Lauren’s advanced language arts teacher during her freshman year. Patty later added: “During class discussion, Lauren was almost always the first one to give input, which included ideas presented at the highest depth of knowledge.” 

Both Patty and Gail Karlish, PBHS Science Department chairwoman, noted in their nomination letters that learning comes easy for Lauren, yet she is always willing to help her peers grasp concepts. 

“Lauren’s prodigious academic capabilities are such that it was a struggle to bring something, anything, to the table… that was both doable for the other students and would actually require any mental exertion on her part,” Karlish explained. “…She is one of those involved-in-everything students, yet she somehow fully embraces and skillfully handles everything on her plate.” 

Extracurricular activities cited in the letters included the Academic Team, Math Club, Beta Club, Drama Club and Choir. MSA offers a three-week curriculum designed to help advanced students realize their full potential through learning and personal development administered by Mizzou’s Honors College.

Consideration is based on cumulative grade point average, aptitude test results, IQ scores and student essays. Counselor Sara Holloway, who initially recommended Lauren for the academy, said the nomination process begins in the fall, and only one PBHS student is submitted for approval each year. 

Ross Dare, an incoming senior, had the opportunity to participate in the 2018 Academy. He remains in contact to this day with some of the members of the learning community, he reported. 

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Cutline: Lauren Robertson (right), pictured with her nominating counselor Sara Holloway, will attend the 2019 Missouri Scholars Academy in June.