PSHS Senior Carolanne Sanders One of 12 Ron Brown Scholars

June 5, 2009

The Ron Brown Scholar Program, the nation’s leading scholarship program for African American youth, recently announced that Carolanne E. Sanders, a senior at Plano Senior High School, has been selected as a 2009 Ron Brown Scholar. Chosen from more than 10,000 high school students, Miss Sanders is one of only 12 African American students from across the country awarded this honor.

Sanders has assumed a challenging course load while attending Plano Senior High School, receiving recognition as an AP Scholar and National Merit Commended Scholar. In addition to her normal coursework, Sanders is an avid musician and serves as principal cellist with her school’s orchestra and participates with the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra under the direction of Richard Giangiulio. Sanders is a member of the Plano HS National Honor Society, co-founded her school’s chapter of Model UN, and participates with Girl Scouts of America.  She has volunteered with the Texas Cares Animal Welfare Program and interned with the University of Texas (Dallas) Neuroscience Lab.

Carolanne will be attending Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, where she intends to persue a dual degree with majors in English Literature and Cello Performance.

Carolanne hopes to translate her love of music and literature into a career as a professor of literature or an orchestral musician. "Words and musical notes have a sort of timeless, intangible beauty that you can't find anywhere else," she says. "I just want to be able to let people love them the way I do."

Michael Mallory, executive director of the Ron Brown Scholar Program, said, “Carolanne’s remarkable academic accomplishments underscore her desire to use her knowledge and passion outside the classroom.  She is part of a tremendous group of gifted young people who all bring their unique backgrounds and personal experiences to benefit the Ron Brown Scholar Program and their communities as a whole.”

Founded in 1996 and named in honor of the first African American Secretary of Commerce, the Ron Brown Scholar Program provides students with the financial resources to attend some of the finest colleges and universities in the country, in addition to promoting outstanding service opportunities for the next generation of promising African American leaders.

Ron Brown Scholars are selected on the basis of demonstrated academic excellence, leadership potential, social commitment and financial need. Some key highlights of the program include:

• More than half of Ron Brown Scholars attend Ivy League universities;
• Two Ron Brown Scholars were elected to be the First Marshals of their Harvard University graduating classes, considered the highest honor bestowed upon an undergraduate;
• One Ron Brown Scholar has been selected as a Truman Scholar and two Ron Brown Scholars have been selected as finalists for the Rhodes Scholarship;
• Ron Brown Scholars dedicate themselves to enriching lives in their local communities and worldwide. For example, nine Ron Brown Scholars have conducted AIDS research and community service with the Institute of Human Virology;
• With a 100% graduation rate, Ron Brown Scholars go on to succeed in a variety of leadership positions. From finance executives and top lawyers, to award-winning playwrights and Supreme Court Justice clerks, they have published books and documentaries, appeared as expert guests on radio and television, and been invited as speakers to numerous international conferences.
  

Applicants must proceed through a highly competitive selection process against thousands of other qualified candidates, culminating in an invitation to spend a weekend in Washington, D.C. for the final round of interviews. Ten to twenty winners are chosen at the conclusion of this weekend each year.

For more information about the Ron Brown Scholar Program, visit www.ronbrown.org.

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About the Ron Brown Scholar Program
Named for the late Secretary of Commerce and inspired by his dedication to public service, the Ron Brown Scholar Program was established in 1996 to provide academic scholarships, service opportunities and leadership experiences for young African Americans of outstanding promise.  The Program seeks to accelerate their progress into the mainstream of leadership positions in business, education, government and a wide spectrum of professions, while instilling a dedication to leadership and service.