The 11 summa cum laude students from the Brown County High School Class of 2019 were recognized last month at a dinner at the Artist Colony Inn. They also will be recognized at commencement on Friday, June 7.

Starting with this graduating class, Brown County High School will no longer name a valedictorian or salutatorian. Instead, students can earn the tiered honors of cum laude, magna cum laude or summa cum laude, as is done in college.

To be named summa cum laude, a student has to complete 48 credits in approved coursework; earn an Indiana academic honors or technical honors diploma; and earn a cumulative grade-point average of 4.0 or above.

Students are ranked after completing eight semesters. Previously, they were scored based on seven semesters.

Read more about the students below; these are the biographies they wrote for themselves.

Samuel Bowman

The son of John and Donna Bowman, Sam Bowman is ranked first in the Class of 2019 and has been involved in numerous activities throughout his years at the high school.

He has been active in the theater department for all four years where he was chief of lighting for three years, chief of sound for two years, and this year, was voted as president of the Thespian Honor Society.

Sam is also part of the National, Spanish and Science honor societies. He has competed on the math, science and interdisciplinary academic teams since his sophomore year. He has built and programmed robots on the robotics team all four years. He has competed in the science fair since sixth grade. He won the Intel Award for Excellence in Computer Science at the state level his sophomore year.

Sam is a student representative on the Regional Opportunities Initiative and Eagle Manufacturing advisory teams. Despite no longer being able to fit the Eagle Manufacturing class into his schedule, has continued to be involved in the program throughout its first full year.

Last fall, Sam began working in an internship with Cummins on its Global Cyber Security Operations team in order to gain real-world experience working in the field. As a result, Sam is planning to study computer science with a focus on security and privacy at Indiana University. He hopes to pursue a career in cybersecurity when he graduates.

Chase Watson

Chase Watson is the son of Chad and Lauri Kritzer and is second in the Class of 2019.

Chase has played varsity tennis from the eighth grade through his high school career and plans to continue playing in college at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. He received the Lilly Scholarship and a matching tuition scholarship, earning him a full ride to Rose.

During high school, Chase has been a part of the Science Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, Interact, the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards program and History Club.

Baelyn Koester

Baelyn Koester is the daughter of Wayne and Joanne Koester.

This year she served as the president of student council, vice president of Interact Club and secretary/treasurer of National Honor Society.

She is also a member of Spanish and Science honor societies, History Club and Brown County Dance Marathon.

Baelyn played varsity volleyball and tennis all four years of high school. She now holds the school record for the most career digs. She has been named all-conference in both volleyball and tennis two years as well as academic all-conference.

Next year, she plans to study nursing and Spanish at Indiana State University.

Zelton Kay

Zelton Kay was born in Gainesville, Florida, to Jon and Mandy Kay. He moved to Brown County when he was 4.

He’s bounced around programs and departments throughout high school. He’s been in theater for two years, played soccer for a year, has been in the show choir band In Blue for three years, and is in Brown County Dance Marathon. He is also a member of the the Science, Spanish and National honor societies.

Zelton has also competed in many academic competitions, including science fair, National History Day, the Purdue Boiler Tech Engineering challenge and the Academic Bowl. His love for music has also made him an accomplished musician and guitarist, playing everything from bluegrass and folk to punk rock.

Zelton plans to attend Indiana University next fall to major in comprehensive design and maybe start the next great American rock band. He’s still not sure about that last part, but he’s excited to continue his education and wants to thank everyone for being an important part of the past four years.

Jackson McPheeters

Born to Charles Bruce McPheeters and Kelly Diane McPheeters, Jackson McPheeters is fifth in his class.

Jackson is the vice president of National Honor Society and Brown County Dance Marathon. He is also involved in student council, History Club and Interact Club.

He ran cross-country for three years and qualified for semistate twice. He played basketball for three years, earning varsity his junior year. He ran track all four years, where he has broken two school records. His junior year he became one of two athletes in Brown County history to participate in three events at a state championship. The highlight of that performance was a sixth place on the 4×800 meter relay, earning him all-state honors.

Next year, Jackson plans to study athletic training and will compete in track and field at college. He plans to attend graduate school to become a doctor of physical therapy with a sports specialization.

Isabelle Allen

Isabelle Allen, born to Penny Arvin-Allen and Dale Allen, is sixth in her class.

Izzy is currently a member of the History Club, taking the most pride in her work with the Veterans Day program. She also played softball her freshman and sophomore years, winning the Silver Slugger award the first year and the Golden Glove award the next.

Izzy has been on the honor roll for four consecutive years and is one of two students from Brown County High School to be awarded the AP Project Lead The Way Achievement award in biomedical science.

Izzy is enrolled at Indiana University in Bloomington where she plans to become a physician at the VA. She chose this profession because she wants to give back to those who have served our nation.

Madison Bickley

The daughter of Jennifer Bickley and Aaron Bickley, Madison Bickley is ranked seventh in her class.

Madison is the president of National Honor Society and served as secretary/treasurer during her junior year. She played volleyball from her freshman to junior years.

She has worked at The Chocolate Moose since the first semester of sophomore year and the Nashville General Store and Bakery since the second semester of sophomore year.

Additionally, Madison is a member of the Spanish Honor Society, student council, History Club, Interact Club, Brown County Dance Marathon, Recycling Club and is a senior class officer. In the past, she has also been a freshman, sophomore and junior class officer. She won the Rotary Club Student of the Month award in December 2018, recommended for it by her former teacher, Cheryl Fox.

After high school, she will attend IUPUI studying psychology to later counsel teenagers suffering from depression and anxiety.

Mekenzie Dunnuck

Mekenzie Dunnuck is ranked eighth in her class. Her family consists of her parents, David and Cheryl Dunnuck, and her older brother, Dawson Dunnuck.

Mekenzie is a successful volleyball player who is a four-year varsity letter recipient. She has participated for three years in club volleyball at Hoosierland Volleyball Club. She is active in National Honor Society, Science Honor Society, History Club and student council.

Mekenzie has advanced to the State History Day with a documentary and participated in the science fair. At the regional science fair, she was awarded the best abstract and first in her category. During the state science fair competition, she was awarded the Young Female Scientific Excellence award from Women in Lilly Discovery and presented her project to the Lilly scientific community.

After graduation, Mekenzie plans to attend the University of Kentucky and pursue a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, followed by a master’s degree in business administration, then enter the professional ranks with options in either research or business.

Wolfgang Davis

The son of Thor and Steffanie Davis, Wolfgang, or Wolf as most know him, is ninth in his class.

During his high school career he helped with Brown County Dance Marathon and the Science Honor Society for a few years. He also was in student council and History Club briefly during his senior year.

During the beginning of high school, Wolf tried basketball, but he quickly found that this ability was almost non-existent and decided to spend his time working instead. Wolf worked at Big Woods throughout high school, and during his senior year, was able to take half-days at school to work basically full-time.

Next year, Wolf will attend Indiana University to study environmental science.

Madison Martin

Born to Kathy Slater Martin and Jason Martin, Madison Martin is 10th in her class.

Madison is a member of the National and Spanish honor societies. She was also a member of the dance team.

Madison was one of two students at Brown County to receive the Advanced Placement and Project Lead the Way award in biomedical science for earning high scores in three AP exams as well as Project Lead the Way end-of-course assessments.

Madison is enrolled at Indiana University to study nursing and Spanish. After college, she plans to join the Peace Corps and then pursue her nursing career as a traveling registered nurse.

Amber Reece

Amber Marie Reece, born to Marvin and Elaine Reece, is 11th in her class.

Amber moved here at the beginning of her junior year. She received the Outstanding U.S. History Student award her junior year.

Amber has completed all three years of the Project Lead the Way biomedical program. She also joined the the History Club her senior year and participated in the Veterans Day program.

Amber will attend Indiana University in the fall. She’s planning on majoring in biology. After college, she hopes to go to grad school to eventually gain a doctorate in a currently-undecided branch of biology.