Each honoree receives a four-year scholarship worth up to $1,500 per year, to be used for undergraduate study at any institution of higher education based on cost of attendance. The scholars were chosen from more than 600 nominees made by public and private high school principals, as well as from home schooling entities, from across the state.

“Maryland has the great fortune of having scores of talented young people at our high schools, and this program gives us a chance to celebrate their incredible accomplishments,” said Dr. Nancy S. Grasmick, State Superintendent of Schools. “This program provides important financial help as our students prepare to further their education.”

The Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program is designed to promote student excellence and achievement. The program recognizes exceptionally able students that show promise of continued excellence as they pursue higher education. Principals at both public and private schools were invited to nominate students from the top 1 percent of their graduating classes for this prestigious award. Qualifying GED and home school graduates also are considered for the honor.

Scholars were named in all 24 public school systems, as well as at private schools.

(A complete list of Maryland Byrd Scholars are listed below.)

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2009 MARYLAND BYRD SCHOLARS

ALLEGANY
Savannah Mason, Fort Hill High School

ANNE ARUNDEL
Logan McNamara, Severn School
Serena Walker, Meade High School
Laura Blevins, Chesapeake High School
Frederick Baukhages, Indian Creek School
Jessica Lain, Glen Burnie High School
Patrick O’Friel, Archbishop Spalding High School
Anne Flood, Broadneck High School
Patricia McKenna, South River High School
Sarah Williams, Glen Burnie High School
Melissa Ward, Institute of Notre Dame
Caroline Gott, Southern High School
Mark Devlin, Arundel High School
Molly Mason, Broadneck High School

BALTIMORE CITY
Bret Sears, Renaissance Academy
Aiger Banks, Edmondson Westside High School
Jasmine Owens, Frederick Douglass High School
Antionette Whitehead, Baltimore Talent Development
Meirah Shedlo, Home School
Maha El-Deeb, Patterson High School

BALTIMORE COUNTY
Nataniel Mandelberg, Pikesville High School
Arik Wingate, Kenwood High School
Desiree Gonzales, Overlea High School
Natalie Elardo, Chesapeake High School
Kathryn Valdes, Home School
Erin Reisfeld, Franklin High School
Michael Wu, Eastern Technical High School
Christine Peck, Catholic High School of Baltimore
Hejia Wang, Dulaney High School
Adam Mayer, Yeshivat Rambam
Julie Wunder, Maryvale Preparatory School
Christina Simmons, St. Francis Academy
Christopher Bilger, Calvert Hall College High School
Jennifer Narod, Owings Mills High School
Aria Esposito, Dundalk High School
Victoria Gan, Perry Hall High School
Angela Gauthier, Dulaney High School
David Phillips, Loyola Blakefield
Stephanie Sarbanes, Towson High School
Qiao Wu, Lansdowne High School

CALVERT
Julian Hassinger, Calvert High School
Katherine Shirley, Northern High School
Sandy Carter, Patuxent High School
Adrian Harding, Huntingtown High School

CAROLINE
Aisha Ullah, Colonel Richardson High School

CARROLL
Amanda Simensky, Winters Mill High School
Thomas Henson, Westminster High School
Douglas Findeisen, South Carroll High School
Angela Cannaliato, The Excelsior Academy
Margaret Gillan, North Carroll High School
Katrina Magalotti, Century High School
Gordon Lyons, Francis Scott Key High School

CECIL
Audrey Tolbert, Perryville High School
Shea Kozak, North East High School
Alison Duffy, Bohemia Manor High School

CHARLES
Simon Jerome, Thomas Stone High School
Peter Marquis, North Point High School
Jordan Stephenson, Maurice J. McDonough High School
Jacquelyn Blake-Hedges, St. Mary’s Ryken High School
Victoria Weiss, LaPlata High School
Tiphanie Gammon, Westlake High School

DORCHESTER
Loan Dinh, North Dorchester High School

FREDERICK
Autumn Bordner, Tuscarora High School
Taylor Zickafoose, Catoctin High School
Laura Kalinyak, Governor Thomas Johnson High School
Katherine Brown, Linganore High School
Jacob Birkholz, Brunswick High School
Julia Klein, Urbana High School
Haddon Dine, Frederick High School
Margaret Tighe, Governor Thomas Johnson High School

GARRETT
Emily Lipscomb, Southern Garrett High School

HARFORD
Molly Merritts, Harford Technical High School
Daniel Shellem, Harford Lutheran
Austin Steelman, The Tome School
Matthew Anthony, C. Milton Wright High School
Ashley Naumann, Bel Air High School
Kyle Saltsman, Fallston High School
Valerie Sheehan, Edgewood High School
Chelsea Feinstein, North Harford High School

HOWARD
Stephen Tawa, Mt. Hebron High School
Melanie Johnson, Atholton High School
David Eastman, Howard High School
Yelena Leznik, Oakland Mills High School
Brendan Carter,Glenelg High School
Shirley Weng, Marriotts Ridge High School
Kevin Schmid, Centennial High School
Phillip Smith, McDonough School
Anthony Basile, Wilde Lake High School
Samuel Wascher, DeMatha Catholic High School
Danika Allen, St. Vincent Pallotti High School
Samuel Storey, River Hill High School
Rebecca Tun, Reservoir High School

KENT
Winona Janega, Kent County High School

MONTGOMERY
Kara Karpman, Richard Montgomery High School
Serena Bochereau, French International School
Jacob Levitt, Walt Whitman High School
Karen Qi, Northwest High School
Eric Moy, Winston Churchill High School
Natalee Black, Takoma Academy
David Peter, Walter Johnson High School
Richard Steinwand, Springbrook High School
Stephanie Huang, Clarksburg High School
Jeremy Blair, Richard Montgomery High School
LeRoy Culley, Home School
Matthew Stevens, James Hubert Blake High School
Alexa Greenberg, Poolesville High School
Kathleen Hallock, Gaithersburg High School
Victoria Ward, Seneca Valley High School
David Gaynor, Watkins Mill High School
Gretta Digbeu, Watkins Mill High School
Anna Domini Roma, Wheaton High School
Tzippora Lasdun, Yeshiva Greater Washington
Vivek Patel, Gaithersburg High School
Jared Griffin, John F. Kennedy High School
Sahar Shahamatdar, Montgomery Blair High School

PRINCE GEORGE’S
Delphia Varadarajan, Eleanor Roosevelt High School
Jazmine Ferguson, Frederick Douglass High School
Marcus Taylor, High Road Academy of Prince George’s County
Bianca Giosa, Bowie High School
Adaku Idika, Bladensburg High School
Mehron Price, The Calverton School
Guadalupe Osorio, Fairmont Heights High School
Samuel Barham, Annapolis Area Christian School
Fri-Atsoh Achirimofor, Laurel High School
Dwayne Winslow, Surrattsville High School
Kayla Fowler, Laurel High School

QUEEN ANNE’S
Emily Smith, Queen Anne’s County High School

ST. MARY’S
Kristina Dronenburg, Great Mills High School
Lauren Bussler, Leonardtown High School
Matthew Leepa, Home School
Rachel Peissner, Chopticon High School
Michael Branigan, Great Mills High School

SOMERSET
Hannah Kurtz, Washington High School

TALBOT
Howard Christopher, Saints Peter and Paul

WASHINGTON
Jill Helmstetter, Hancock Middle-Senior High School
Steven Wolfe, Grace Academy
Andrew Bitner, Boonsboro High School
Christopher Bradford, North Hagerstown High School
Bethany Garnand, Smithsburg High School

WICOMICO
Joseph Tilghman, James M. Bennett High School
Krystal Arroyo-Flores, Parkside High School
Deborah Breda, Delmar

WORCESTER
Dominique Kunciw, Worcester Preparatory School