Anchorage - Today, Senator Dave Donley (R-Anchorage) presented 2000 Stellar High School graduate, Kevin Churchel, with the prestigious Oracle Award for Academic Excellence at the Municipality of Anchorage's downtown office building.

"I am pleased that Kevin chose me to present this award and to participate in this important event in his life," said Donley. "His achievement here today stands as a testament to his ability and dedication to scholastic achievement as well as proof positive that Alaska's schools are capable of graduating students of the highest academic caliber."

The Oracle Award is a $2000 scholarship given out to only eight students annually, nationwide, who are planning a career in math or science. Kevin taught math classes at Stellar High and team taught with another teacher in an additional class and served as a Teacher's Aide in physics, pre-calculus and chemistry. Kevin received "A" grades in UAA's calculus classes and advanced physics. He is interested in particle physics.

Kevin achieved a score of 1600 on the SAT and graduated first in his class, with a cumulative GPA of 4.0. He was a recipient of numerous awards at the Alaska Science and Engineering Fair and was named a National Merit Semi-Finalist.

Recipients of the Oracle Award are asked who they would most like to meet and have present their award. Previous presenters have included world-renowned heart surgeon Dr. Benton Cooley, Senator Connie Mack, Governor Tommy Thompson, Congressman Rich Lazio and Gary Ackerman, and Senator Barbara Boxer. Kevin requested Senator Donley to present his award.

Winners of the Oracle Award are announced by the National Alliance for Excellence, Inc. ("NAE"), a non-profit foundation dedicated to recognizing and supporting the nation's most gifted young scholars and emerging artists. NAE President and Vice President Linda Paras and James Dyas were present today to honor Kevin's achievement.

Kevin recently learned that he was one of 50 nationwide winners of the 2000 Lucent Global Science Scholarship, a competition for high school seniors interested in information technologies.

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