Flinn Foundation Selects 20 Excelling Arizona High-School Seniors as 2019 Flinn Scholars

Twenty of Arizona’s highest-achieving high-school seniors have been
named Flinn Scholars and will receive scholarships to Arizona’s three
public research universities valued at more than $120,000.

The merit-based award—which recipients accept in many instances over
admission to the nation’s most prestigious universities—is a full ride
that covers the cost of tuition, fees, housing and meals and provides
funding for at least two study-abroad experiences plus additional
benefits.

The Flinn Scholars Program, supported by the Phoenix-based Flinn
Foundation in partnership with the universities, selected the Class
of 2019 Flinn Scholars from a record-high 894 applications, or an
award rate of 2.2 percent.

The 34^th class of Flinn Scholars features 20 students from
the Phoenix metropolitan area, Tucson, Prescott, and Pinal County,
representing 19 high schools.

“Each Flinn Scholar we meet is unique, but these students have something
in common besides the capacity to excel in the classroom,” said Tammy
McLeod, Flinn Foundation president and CEO. “They have deep dedication
to their schools, communities, the future of Arizona, and the world. The
Flinn Foundation is excited not only to announce this new class of Flinn
Scholars but to see what lies ahead for them and our state.”

The only school with two Flinn Scholars this year is Arizona
Agribusiness and Equine Center-Estrella Mountain, a charter school west
of Phoenix. Those two students are the first Flinn Scholars from their
school.

Four other high schools are also celebrating their first Flinn Scholar
in 2019: Maricopa High School, Basha High School in Chandler, Gilbert
Classical Academy High School, and BASIS Prescott.

The 2019 Flinn Scholars named a variety of areas of study in their
applications, including Mandarin, biochemistry, psychology, economics,
mechanical and environmental engineering, mathematics, nursing,
agribusiness, philosophy, biomedical science, and computer science.

The Scholars will start undergraduate studies at Arizona State
University, Northern Arizona University, and the University of Arizona
in August.

There are now nearly 650 current and alumni Flinn Scholars, with about
80 Scholars studying at the three universities at any time.

“The academic accomplishments, extracurricular involvement, and
dedication to service this group has demonstrated are remarkable and we
have high hopes for their future contributions,” said Anne Lassen, Flinn
Scholars Program director. “We also want to commend all of the
high-achieving students who applied and made this year’s selection so
challenging.”

The Flinn Scholarship benefits,
beyond covering eight semesters of tuition, fees, and housing and meals,
include:

• A three-week summer
  seminar in China for the full class following the freshman year,
  and at least one additional study-abroad experience;
• Mentorship from top faculty and exposure to Arizona and global
  leaders, including leaders from Arizona’s business, civic, and
  academic communities;
• Membership in a university
  honors college, with small classes, guest lectures, and research
  experiences;
• Intellectual, cultural and social activities developed for Scholars by
  both the Flinn Foundation and the universities;
• Fellowship in the Flinn Scholars community.

The typical Flinn Scholar achieves at least a 3.5 grade-point average, a
top-5 percent class rank, and a score of 1340 on the SAT or 29 on the
ACT and demonstrates exceptional leadership in extracurricular
activities.

The Flinn
Scholars Program, established in 1986, is operated by the Flinn
Foundation Scholarship Program LLC and supported by the Flinn
Foundation, a Phoenix-based private, nonprofit, grantmaking
organization. The Foundation, founded in 1965 by the late Dr. Robert and
Irene Flinn, also supports the advancement of Arizona’s bioscience
sector, arts and culture, and the Arizona Center for Civic Leadership
and its flagship Flinn-Brown Academy.

Meet
the 2019 Flinn Scholars
flinnscholars.org

[Editor’s note: Student names and high schools are here.
Student photos are available for download at https://app.box.com/s/u68m4hovvl1fzf2m23yotpi700ze7pzj]

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