STARs will be recognized at academic honors night

Pictured are Abigail Minor, this year's STAR Student at LCHS, and STAR Teacher Lee Robinson. The pair is among those who will receive recognition at Academic Honors Night set for Monday, May 5, at 7 p.m. in the LCHS Cafeteria.

Abigail Minor, STAR Student at LCHS, and STAR Teacher, Lee Robinson, will be among those receiving recognition at Academic Honors Night, slated for Monday, May 5, at 7 p.m. in the school cafeteria.

"It is a real honor to have been named STAR Student, especially for a class as prestigious as ours is," said Minor. "I feel incredibly humble and grateful."

The STAR Student must be in the top 10 percent of his class and have earned the highest score on the College Board Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT).

Minor has been in the top five percent of her class throughout high school, serving as an honor usher at commencement exercises last year.

At the 2007 academic awards ceremony, the gifted scholar received a certificate of merit from Augusta State University.

She was also named a National Merit Commended Scholar and an NFL(National Forensic League) Academic All-American last year in recognition of her performance on the PSAT and the SAT, respectively. In addition, she was a recipient of the Georgia Retired Educators Association Academic Award.

During her career at LCHS, Minor has served as secretary of the Spanish Honor Society; as a peer tutor, representing the Senior Beta Club; as the manager and an alternate player for the tennis team; as a member of the Lincoln County 4-H Club County Council for four years; and as president of school's NFLchapter.

As a member of the NFL, Minor competed in from 10 to 15 tournaments throughout the state each year. She likewise qualified for four national tournaments in varsity policy debate and original oratory.

Moreover, Minor's team was a two-time Class A state runner-up in policy debate in 2007 and 2008. Concerning individual honors, she was named the top affirmative speaker in Class A this year.

During the 2007-2008 season, she and her partner won three varsity debate tournaments overall.

The STAR Student has further distinguished herself as a member of the LCHS Spring Literary Team. She won the region title in Girls Spelling in 2005 and 2006; she went on to compete at the state level in 2006 and was named the first runner-up in Class A. This year, she captured the region crown in Girls Essay and was named the state second runner-up in March.

Minor has also been involved in the school's One Act Play productions as well as the spring musicals, presented by the LCHS Musical Theater Department. This May, she will play the role of Chip in "Beauty and the Beast."

Considering all of her accomplishments, it is no surprise that Minor's classmates voted her "Most Likely to Succeed," "Most Unforgettable," and "Most Likely to Join the Circus."

In line with her concern for the environment, she was likewise designated as a "Save the Caribou Kid" for being the only senior who still walks to school.

Along with her school activities, Minor has worked as a volunteer at the Lincoln County Library and the Imperial Theater in Augusta and is an active member of the Queen of Angels Church in Thomson.

In her spare time, she enjoys "pretending to be an athlete," browsing through dictionaries, baking, watching black-and-white movies, translating song lyrics into Spanish, and twinkle lights.

Looking toward the future, Minor plans to attend the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana in order to pursue a career in secondary education, with a possible emphasis on foreign language and nutrition education in developing countries.

The STAR Student is the daughter of Annette Carter of Lincolnton and John Minor of Champaign-Urbana.

Commenting on her choice of Lee Robinson as her STAR Teacher, Minor said, "I had to pick Mrs. R as my STAR Teacher. I have had the privilege of working with so many wonderful teachers, but Mrs. R. has had a huge impact on my life because she has been a coach, mentor, and friend to me, besides being an awesome teacher."

Robinson was Minor's English and speech teacher as well as her debate coach.

According to Robinson, "So many things have made Abigail such a joy to coach and teach - and when a teacher can still say that a student is a joy to be around after roughly 50 in-state and national debate tournament trips and nine different high school classes, the student in question is pretty special.

"Abigail is an outstanding speech and debate student and has set benchmarks among Lincoln County students that probably no one will ever touch. Obviously, she is an extremely bright young lady; however, her intelligence goes beyond 'books smarts' to insights well beyond her years.

"Most importantly to me, though, she is a joy to be around," said Robinson. "She has a wonderful sense of humor and a huge heart for others, qualities that have made her an outstanding leader in our program.

"In short, Abigail is indeed a fantastic student, but she is an even more fantastic person, who is very dear to my heart and whom I am going to miss more than words can say next year. I am incredibly honored that such a special person named me as her STAR Teacher."

This marks the fourth time Robinson has been named STAR Teacher at LCHS. She was tapped for the honor by David Price in 2004, Chris Edwards in 2003, and by Edwards' sister, Laura, in 2001.

A native of McDuffie County, Robinson graduated magna cum laude from Georgia Southern University in 1986 with a double major in English and Spanish. She earned a master's degree in business administration from Georgia Southern in 1988 and a master's in secondary English education from the university in 1994.

During her senior year at Georgia Southern, the STAR Teacher was inducted into the Phi Kappa Phi honor society, which was comprised of the top five percent of students in the class. She was also a member of Sigma Tau Delta, an English honor society, and Sigma Delta Pi, a Spanish honor society.

Robinson began her teaching career in 1987 at Briarwood Academy in Thomson, where she taught English, Spanish, life science, and journalism. Since arriving at LCHS in 1990, she has taught a variety of courses including English, conversational Spanish, drama, reading, humanities, composition, literature, applied communications, and public speaking. She is presently teaching American literature, advanced composition, AP English, AP English literature, and speech/forensics.

The STAR Teacher is the chairman of the English Department and serves as the school's literary coordinator.

While at LCHS, Robinson has coached the academic team (1995- 1998), directed the drama program (1993-2000) and the one-act play (1993-1999, 2006), and served as an advisor for the National Honor Society

(1990-1995). She currently coaches students in debate and individual speaking events. She also serves as the advisor for the school's NFLchapter and has achieved the quint ruby degree level as an NFLcoach.

Since Robinson began coaching debate in 1993, the LCHS Debate Team has won eight consecutive region championships from 1997-2004, after which the GHSA (Georgia High School Association) disbanded region tournaments. Beginning in 2005, LCHS has qualified for the GHSA state tournament every year, finishing in the top two in Class A seven out of the past eight years.

LCHS debaters likewise qualified for the NFLNational Tournament in 2007 and 2008 and for the NCFL(National Catholic Forensic League) Grand National Tournament in 2005 and 2007.

Over the past 15 years, the team has won nearly 150 awards, not including region and state honors.

In 2007, Robinson was named the "Georgia Debate Coach of the Year." That same year, she received the Winfield Scott Tournament's "Richard Bracknell Award for Outstanding Service," and in 2003, she was designated as the Northside High School Tournament's "Debate Coach of the Year."

Furthermore, she has served as an officer in the Georgia Forensic Coaches Association for the past six years.

Also, under Robinson's guidance, the LCHS Literary Team has won 11 region championships in dramatic interpretation and then gone on to place in the top three in the state six times since 1997. The school captured the state title in dramatic interpretation in 2002.

In addition, LCHS has won 10 region titles in extemporaneous speaking within the past nine years, with six of those students placing in the top three in the state. The school won the state championship in 2004, 2005, and 2008.

Overall, the LCHS Literary Team has placed in the top three in the state five times since 2001, which includes three consecutive state titles (2001 to 2003).

Beginning in 2005, six Lincoln County students have qualified to compete in individual literary events at the NFLand the NCFLnational tournaments.

In her spare time, the STAR Teacher enjoys traveling, working with computers, creative writing, and watching Atlanta Braves baseball.

She is married to Claude Robinson.

In its 50th year, the Student- Teacher Achievement Recognition (STAR) program is sponsored by PAGE, the Georgia Department of Education, and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. The local sponsor is the Lincolnton-Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce.

Since its inception, the STAR program has honored more than 19,000 high school seniors and the teachers whom they selected as the most instrumental in their academic development.