Every year, the Rotary Club of Decatur recognizes many seniors for one of the most significant testaments to a student’s academic achievement, having the highest SAT score at their school.
“STAR student recognizes the student who gets the highest SAT score in one single test sitting. So you can’t get a really high score on one part in one test and another on another test and get the award,” said Greg Valley, a social studies teacher at Chamblee.
Chamblee’s recipient of this award this year, Paul Frilingos, scored a 1580, with a perfect score in the math section.
“With these kinds of tests, it’s all on math and language, but if you know it, you know it, and I knew it. Initially I didn’t really study for it and I didn’t do any practice exams. I did the PSAT each year so I had a feel of the test and I knew I would do well,” said Frilingos.
Frilingos, as evidenced by his high score on the SAT, takes pride in pushing himself academically.
“I’m taking distance math at Georgia Tech, which is linear algebra and Multivariable Calculus, and I’m also taking British Literature at Georgia State,” said Frilingos.
While he pushes himself in the dual enrollment classes he takes, he also performs well in his few classes at Chamblee.
“[Frilingos] is always quick to answer questions in class. He’s a quick learner and understands a great deal about physics. He has a natural talent for learning,” said Marie Cabrices, Frilingos’ teacher for AP Physics C.
One perk of being Chamblee’s STAR student is being able to choose who the school’s STAR Teacher is for that year.
“Every year, the STAR Student gets to select any teacher that they’ve worked with at any time in high school to be the STAR Teacher,” said Valley, who was chosen by Frilingos.
Frilingos, who wants to pursue a higher education in social studies, thought that Valley was the best teacher he’s had at Chamblee.
“I picked Mr. Valley, because I had him for a couple of years and I really liked the classes I had with him [AP Government and AP European History],” said Frilingos.
Valley thinks that while Frilingos must’ve seen great teaching qualities in him, work ethic was also a big part of the equation.
“One thing that I try to do is to be really involved with a lot of different organizations. I put a lot of time in. I think one thing that everybody does, you know, whether or not everybody always sees it or not, is I think everybody here puts in a lot of time,” said Valley, “All of the teachers put in time preparing lessons and being creative. I think those are the things that kind of like we all continue to work on. It’s not a finished process, it’s something we’re always working on and improving,”
While STAR student is viewed more as a celebration of a student’s hard work rather than something they can use to leverage later in life, Frilingos only has one thing he wants out of getting this award.
“I want to give a speech at graduation. I know it’s really early this year, but it’s about the fact that valedictorians and salutatorians get a speech,” said Frilingos, “I have the highest SAT score, I think I should get a speech too. I’m a great speaker, a fantastic one at that, so I think it’d be cool if the school let me give one.”
