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Local students honored as Presidential Scholars By Mail Tribune staff Updated: May 12, 2021 01:50 PM A A Two local high school seniors have been selected by the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars as 2021 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program semifinalists, a distinction awarded to 625 of the 3.6 million graduating high-school seniors in the country. Kaitlyn Kim Ashland High School’s Kaitlyn Kim and South Medford High’s Yosalin Arenas received the distinction based on, according to the award letter, “their accomplishments in Yosalin Arenas many areas — academic and artistic success, accomplishment in career and technical fields, leadership, strong character and involvement in school and the community.” They were two of eight Oregonians selected for the honor and the only students on Oregon’s list south of Corvallis. Kim and Arenas will be presented with a Presidential Scholars Medallion during an awards ceremony in June. Kim has a 4.3 GPA, scored 1,580 on her SAT, including a perfect 800 on the biology portion, she is a National Merit Scholar, a National AP Scholar with Distinction, and was one of 42 recipients nationally of the Lota Sigma Pi Outstanding Young Women in Chemistry award. Kim also has a long list of leadership distinctions: She’s a lieutenant governor of the Pacific Northwest District Key Club International, serves as president of the National Honor Society, Model United Nations and International Club, and is working remotely as the youngest research assistant in Dr. Marie-Abele Bind’s environmental biostatistics lab at Harvard University to study the epigenetics of Alzheimer’s Disease using statistical programming tools. Arenas, who has received a Presidential Scholarship from Oregon State University and carries a 4.0 GPA, serves as an Oregon state board student advisor, and in that role worked as a student representative on Oregon's Healthy Schools Reopening Council. She's also part of the Racial Justice Committee, attending meetings with officials that include Gov. Kate Brown. Locally, Arenas has been an advocate for students during the gradual reopening of schools as South Medford High School's student body president.