Wesleyan Student, Teacher Receive STAR Award

PEACHTREE CORNERS -- A Wesleyan student and teacher were recently recognized, the student for his academic success, and the teacher for her influence on his success.

Nathan Grice has been named the 2012 STAR student for by the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce, local sponsor of the STAR program.

Wesleyan's 12th recipient of this honor, Grice, selected Ms. Nina Kozlova, his AP Physics teacher, as Wesleyan's STAR teacher who has had the greatest influence on his academic life.

The Student Teacher Achievement Recognition (STAR) program, in its 54th year, is sponsored by the Professional Association of Georgia Educators (PAGE) Foundation, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the Georgia Department of Education.

Since its inception, the STAR program has honored more than 2,500 exemplary students as well as the teachers they have selected.

To obtain the STAR nomination, high school seniors must have the highest score in a single sitting on the three-part SAT taken through the November test date of their senior year and be in the top 10 percent or top 10 students of their class based on grade point average.

Students and their teachers are honored by receiving special recognition in their communities from more than 165 statewide civic organizations and businesses.

Grice has applied to Brown University, Dartmouth College, Harvard College, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Princeton University, Stanford University, Vanderbilt University, Wake Forest University, and Yale College. 

Throughout his high school career, Grice has been an Iron Wolf as a cross country runner and thespian. He has also participated in mission trips to the Netherlands, Romania, and China. This spring, he is a servant leader on the middle school trip to Chattanooga.

Kozlova, Wesleyan’s STAR teacher, earned the equivalent of a Master’s degree in Education majoring in teaching physics and English as a Second Language from Chelyabinsk Pedagogical University in Chelyabinsk, Russia.

Kozlova is now in her 5th full year at Wesleyan. She has taught standard, Honors, and Advanced Placement Physics.

Editor's note: The information in this announcement was provided by Chad McDaniel, Director of Communications for Wesleyan School.