Outstanding academic achievement has won senior Lucas Jennings the honor of being named Noon Optimist Student of the Month for August.
Jennings has attended Darlington School since eighth grade. He currently ranks fourth in the class of 122 with an average of 102. Over his high school career, he has taken 19 AP and Honors courses.
“Lucas is among the best of the best of the well-rounded students,” said one of his teachers. “He is polite, athletic, intelligent and friendly. Lucas’ presence in the classroom is beneficial to all due to his desire to learn, his natural curiosity and his willingness to help others in class. He is adept at managing his busy schedule and maintaining high averages in demanding courses. There is no doubt in my mind that Lucas is going to do something special with his future.”
Jennings is a three-sport athlete in cross country, soccer and wrestling. He is a three-year member of the varsity cross country team, and has served as captain for the past two years. He also received the Scholar-Athlete Award and was named Most Improved for cross country in 2009. He is also a three-year member of the varsity soccer team and has played four years of Arsenal Rome Club Soccer. He is a four-year member of the varsity wrestling team and currently serves as captain. In 2010, he received the Scholar-Athlete Award, was named Most Improved and placed fourth in the Class A State Competition in the 130-pound weight class.
Jennings is currently in the college application process and is considering universities in the Southeast and West, including Duke, Clemson, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Miami, the University of Southern California, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The son of Linda and Russ Jennings, Lucas was honored at an Optimist Club luncheon on August 30.
