A Chapter 74 Vocational Technical Student granted the National African American Recognition Award

Colleagues,

Great News from Blackstone Valley Tech!!

Recognizing Our College Board National Recognition Program Awardee – 11.27.23

We’re so proud to have a student earn academic honors from the College Board National Recognition Programs, which celebrate underrepresented students who excel academically. Vanessa Lizotte of Bellingham, a senior in our Information Technology, has been granted the National African American Recognition Award.

This academic honor can be included in college and scholarship applications and is designed to help students stand out during admissions. Many colleges intentionally recruit awardees through the College Board’s Student Search Service™.

Vanessa was recently recognized, and her academic excellence and hard work were acknowledged at the November School Committee Meeting. "We are incredibly proud of her strong academic performance in the classroom and on the College Board assessments, including PSAT/NMSQT®, PSAT™ 10, and AP® exams," said Superintendent-Director Dr. Michael F. Fitzpatrick. "This recognition reinforces the great work she has done and will continue to do as she advances her career."

The criteria for eligible students include:
• GPA of 3.5 or higher.
• PSAT/NMSQT or PSAT 10 assessment scores that are within the top 10% of assessment takers in each state for each award program or earned a score of 3 or higher on two or more AP Exams in 9th and 10th grade.
• Attend school in a rural area or small town, or identify as African American/Black, Hispanic American/Latino, or Indigenous/Native.

Eligible students are invited to apply on BigFuture during their sophomore or junior year and are awarded at the start of the next school year in time to share their achievements in high school as they plan for the future. At the same time, colleges and organizations using the College Board’s Student Search Service can connect directly with awardees during the recruitment process.

“It’s becoming increasingly hard for students to be ‘seen’ during the college recruitment process. We’re exceptionally proud of the National Recognition Programs for celebrating students who are at times overlooked but have shown their outstanding academic abilities,” said Tarlin Ray, Senior Vice President of BigFuture at College Board. “This is a benefit not only for students but also for colleges and universities committed to recruiting diverse and talented students."

David J. Ferreira

MAVA Communications Coordinator

DavidFerreira