Senior Zachary Frankel and 19 other high school students from across the nation were chosen by USA Today to be the 2007 College Academic Second Team.
According to The USA Today Web site, this award honors high school seniors who “not only excel academically, but also extend their abilities beyond the classroom to benefit society.”
The winners were announced May 17, 2007. Second Team members are awarded a diploma and an acknowledgment in USA Today.
The application process required hopefuls to submit their resume, a transcript, teacher recommendations and several essays. Frankel said, “The process begins around January, and I was notified about it from the alumni network of a summer program in which I participated.”
According to Frankel, the application process has an “emphasis on achievement in a single endeavor. They want to see if you’ve really dedicated yourself to something.”
Frankel is a 2007 Intel Semi- Finalist for his research involving the difference between melanoma and normal pathways of DNA-damage response.
In additional, Frankel is the Policy Debate team captain at Stuyvesant. Freshman and team member, Anna Gordan said, “Zach definitely deserves the [USA Today] award. He works extremely hard and does so many extracurricular activities.”
Japanese teacher Chie Helinski, who taught Frankel since his freshman year, agreed. She said, “He knows how to make himself known. People notice him immediately.”
“If there was anything that made him incredible, it would not be his academic ability. It would be his personality,” she said. “He is one of the sweetest kids.”
Frankel said, “I was honored to be named to the team. There are a lot of very talented applicants who work very hard, so it is very humbling to be recognized among them.”