Exceptional AP Student From Pasadena ISD Honored At White House Science Fair

National Math and Science Initiative and Sam Rayburn High School celebrates Carlos Sotelo’s academic excellence
 
DALLAS, TX – The National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI), a non-profit organization launched in 2007 to transform math and science education in the United States, is proud to announce a Pasadena ISD AP student is being celebrated today at the White House Science Fair as an exceptional student.
 

Carlos Sotelo, a senior at Sam Rayburn High School, came to United States from Mexico with his non-English speaking parents as a young child. He lives in Pasadena, Texas with his single mother and two sisters. In the 2011-2012 school year Carlos took four AP courses and passed all four AP exams; he is currently taking five AP courses for the 2012-2013 school year. Carlos maintains a 5.36 GPA as Class Salutatorian while also serving as Key Club President, Student Council Secretary, Senior Class President, Eco Squad Vice President, National Honor Society Secretary, and a four year member of the varsity orchestra.  Carlos was recently accepted to Princeton University, where he will start his academia in the fall.
 
“The National Math and Science Initiative’s *Advanced Placement Program, has prepared me for college level coursework. The program provides me with Saturday Study Sessions to prepare me for the AP exams, “said Carlos Sotelo. “NMSI’s AP Program helps equalize low income students to reach their goals. Without the resources that NMSI has provided I would not be able to accomplish what I have accomplished today.” 
 
NMSI’s AP Program is open to all students in participating high schools who are eligible for AP classes.  Program components include study sessions outside of normal school hours as well as intense training for the AP teachers and teachers grades 6-12 who will build the pipeline of students who are AP-ready. Access to the college-level AP courses not only gives students the opportunity to earn college credit, but also increases their chances of succeeding in college. Students who pass an AP exam are three times more likely to complete their college education. For minority students, that multiplier is even greater: African American and Hispanic students who succeed in AP courses are four times more likely to graduate from college.
 
“Students like Carlos are the reason the NMSI team is so dedicated to this work. He has incredible potential and with the support of amazing teachers and programs like the NMSI AP Program, he will succeed at Princeton and beyond,” said Sara Martinez Tucker, NMSI CEO. “We are so proud that he was selected to be at the White House Science Fair today.”
 
“I am confident Carlos will contribute great things to a college campus, to society, and to the community from which he came,” said Sarah Carnes, Student Counselor at San Rayburn High School. “He is the personification of motivated, hard-working, and innovative. I look forward to seeing amazing accomplishments from him at Princeton and in his life beyond college.”
 
To learn more about the White House science fair and to watch the event live tune in today, April 22 starting at 11:30 a.m. EDT, right here wh.gov/sciencefair. Follow the Twitter conversation using hashtag #WHScienceFair.
 
About National Math and Science Initiative: NMSI, a non-profit organization, was launched in 2007 by top leaders in business, education, and science to transform education in the United States. NMSI has received national recognition for training K-12 teachers and improving student performance through rapid expansion of the highly successful NMSI AP program, NMSI Teacher Training program, and UT Austin’s UTeach program. NMSI’s AP program dramatically increases the number of students taking and passing AP math, science, and English exams, and expands access to traditionally underrepresented students and students in military families. NMSI’s Teacher Training program has trained over 60,000 teachers to deliver more rigorous lessons in the classroom and was selected by PARCC as a premier partner to deliver common core teacher training. The UTeach program, which is now in 35 universities in 17 states, will produce a new generation of content-trained teachers that will impact millions of students in the next decade.
 
 Inaugural funding for NMSI, was provided by the Exxon Mobil Corporation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation.
 
For more information, please visit www.nms.org.
 
*Advanced Placement and AP are registered trademarks of the College Board.
 
 
 
Media Contact:  Mary Ortiz, 214-346-1245, mortiz@nms.org­­­­