MPS student in the running for nation’s highest honor for graduating seniors



MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- A senior at Milwaukee Public SchoolsRonald Reagan College Preparatory High School is a semifinalist for the 2015 Presidential Scholars award.

Alethia Tilford is one of only nine Wisconsin students in the running for the award, considered the nation’s highest honor for graduating high school seniors. Created in 1964, the program honors some of the nation’s most distinguished high school students.

"I couldn't stop moving. I was shaking in my kitchen, because my mom brought me the letter but she was acting non-nonchalant, like I didn't get it. I read it and I just started jumping up and down. I could have ran a mile that day," said Tilford.

Her secret? Persistence.

"I make sure the teacher understands my question and if I don`t get the answer, and I know it is wasting class time, I wait until after school to do it," said Tilford.

It's not just her time inside the classroom that Alethia makes the most of. She also does a lot of volunteering and takes part in extracurricular activities, which goes a long way towards her success.

"Being proactive, it allows people to look at you from a different light,"said Tilford.



Tilford could be one of just 140 students recognized in Washington, D.C.  for her outstanding grades. And if she makes it that far, she'll be sure to stand out.

"I would be the one introducing myself to everyone, making sure when I leave, everybody knows my name," said Tilford.

Of the nation’s 3.3 million graduating seniors, only 4,300 are candidates for the award, based upon exceptional performance on the ACT or SAT college admissions test, and just 565 students earn the right to be considered semifinalists.

The Commission on Presidential Scholars will narrow the list of 565 semifinalists to 121 academic Presidential Scholars and 20 Presidential Scholars in the Arts before June, when winners will travel to Washington, D.C. to be recognized.

Alethia Tilford