AMY SZPARA

LAPLACE – A St. Charles Catholic High School student has been honored as one of the 2,600 candidates for the 2001 Presidential Scholars Program. As one of 40 high school seniors in Louisiana to be named a candidate for the prestigious program, Robbie Paydo was selected from about 2.8 million students expected to graduate this school year. Paydo, who is no stranger to scholarly honors, was chosen because of his high scores on the ACT test. He made a 35 out of a possible 36. The Presidential Scholars Program is in its 38th year, and Paydo is the second student in St. Charles Catholic High School history to be included in the candidates. Of the 2,600 candidates, 500 semifinalists will be chosen by a group of educators that will review their submissions. They will select the semifinalists in early April. Then, a group of 30 citizens chosen by the president will choose finalists, one male and one female from each state. Paydo’s next step is to submit an essay, a list of his school activities, recommendation letters and his transcripts. That will be no problem for the 17-year-old honors student, who enjoys video games and movies in his spare time, because he has a 4.0 grade point average. In honors classes he actually has a 5.5 grade point average or higher on an unweighted scale. Paydo is a member of Beta Club, the French Club, Quiz Bowl and Parish Area Students Systematically Eliminating Drugs (PASSED), and he is on the swim team at his high school. The essay he is submitting to the program required him to describe his family background, what kind of speech he would deliver if given 10 minutes to talk on whatever subject he chose, what fictional character would he like to be and what he would do with a lot of money. Paydo’s parents are educators, which undoubtedly has helped him to understand the importance of academics and contributed to his success. His mother, Diane Brown, is the director of special education in St. John Parish. His father, Robert Brown, is the technical coordinator for St. John schools. Paydo said if he delivered a speech it would be on intolerance. If he were to choose a fictional character that he would like to be it would be the main character from the move “The Matrix.” He’d use the money to build a teen center in the LaPlace area. If Paydo is selected as one of the finalists he will be invited to Washington, D.C. for several days in June to receive the Presidential Scholars medallion at a ceremony at the White House. While in Washington, D.C., scholars will have a chance to meet with government officials and other accomplished people. They will also visit museums, monuments and attend receptions and ceremonies. If Paydo receives that honor he will be asked to invite the teacher who most influenced him. Paydo said that teacher would be Sandra Horne, the teacher he had for Gifted and Talented classes while in elementary school. “She really taught me a lot. She taught me to use my brain, always taught me to work hard,” said Paydo. Aside from his candidacy for the Presidential Scholars Program, Paydo has had many honors bestowed upon him. He has been offered full scholarships to several schools, locally and out of state. He has been awarded the Distinguished Scholars Award, which grants him $16,000 a year for college. He has also been named a National Merit finalist, which also puts him in the running for numerous scholarships. At this point, Paydo says the biggest decision is which college to choose. He is considering Duke and Tulane and plans to study medicine. “I’ve always had an interest in medicine,” said Paydo, who added that he asked for the “Book of Home Remedies” for his eighth birthday. “It’s just something I’ve always wanted to do.”