The Grauer School Announces National Merit Scholarship Candidates

The Grauer School made the following announcement on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013:

The Grauer School in Encinitas announces that two of their high school students have qualified for eligibility as 2013 National Merit Scholarship recipients. The National Merit Scholarship Program is a U.S. academic scholarship competition administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) and provides students who receive exemplary PSAT scores with potential scholarship awards.

Both Grauer School students – Kalina Quinn and Alex Espinosa – scored higher than 2000 on the PSAT exam, qualifying them for the scholarship award. In addition, Alex Espinosa is the recipient of the National Hispanic Recognition Program (NHRP) award for outstanding academic achievement.

The Grauer School experience has heightened the learning potential of both students by providing a low student-to-teacher ratio and individualized attention to their extracurricular interests.

Kalina Quinn commented, “I enrolled at The Grauer School after a stressful experience at another school that created unreasonable pressure on me to excel at extracurricular activities; my creative interests were embraced at The Grauer School and I was encouraged by my teachers to pursue my passions in a non-threatening environment. This translated into a harmonious atmosphere that inspired me to achieve academic excellence.”

Outside of her academic studies, Kalina is a member of The Grauer School Surf Team, and is a laboratory research intern at the Salk Institute in La Jolla where she pursues her passion for marine biology. This summer she will be volunteering as a camp counselor at Camp Stevens in Julian.

According to fellow high school student Alex Espinosa, The Grauer School teachers have inspired him to learn and branch out into new activities.

"My drama teacher Erin Langen inspired me to get involved in drama for the first time. All of The Grauer School teachers in my classes have motivated me to become engaged in learning and excel," Espinosa said. "In addition, I participated in the recording and launch of the first Grauer School record label CD. I play a variety of musical instruments including, drums, bass guitar, banjo and the didgeridoo. This summer I’m looking forward to attending the NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) backpacking trip in the Pacific Northwest.”

Last year, Alex traveled to Tibet as the sole high school student participating in the college-level Wisdom Study Abroad program, and he attended The Grauer School’s expedition to Tanzania. In his spare time, Alex plays bass guitar in a local band, enjoys surfing, rock climbing and art, and composes electronic musical scores.