ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, June 11, 1996 TAG: 9606110019
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
COLUMN: Class Notes
SOURCE: HALE SHEIKERZ
Two area students are among the 2,500 winners of National Merit Scholarship awards. Ryan Ragsdale and Rebecca Winfrey received merit scholarships from Virginia Tech, which they both will attend in the fall.
Ragsdale, of Blacksburg, graduated from Dayspring Christian Academy. He is a four-year member of the varsity soccer team and team co-captain. He also has served on the yearbook staff and is a member of the church youth group.
Ragsdale will pursue a degree in computer engineering at Virginia Tech, where he also is a recipient of the Marshall Hahn engineering scholarship.
Winfrey graduated from Blacksburg High School, where she was a member of the National Honor Society, music club and the literary magazine. She participated in the math and science MACC teams and Virginia Math League contest. She also is recipient of the Girls Scout Gold Award.
Winfrey will study biological and systems engineering at Virginia Tech. Her future plans include attending veterinary school.
Eight of the 35 high award winners from Virginia received merit scholarships from Virginia Tech. To be eligible for a merit scholarship, students must have taken the PSAT and placed as semifinalists, who represent about half of 1 percent of high school seniors nationwide. Semifinalists advance to finalists standing and compete for merit scholarships. In addition to their test scores, requirements such as high academic records, activities, interests, goals and recommendations from their school principal also are considered.
Christiansburg High School student Laura Dangerfield has been selected to the Roanoke Youth Symphony. A sophomore, Dangerfield plays the flute. This summer, she will attend the Youth Symphony Camp at Ferrum College. She also has received a partial scholarship to attend Cannon Music Camp for four weeks in July at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C. She is the daughter of Jim and Sue Taylor of Christiansburg.
Meredith Miller, a second-grader at Belview Elementary School recently had her poem "Fall Changes" accepted for publication in the Anthology of Poetry by Young Americans. In the past two years, Miller has been recognized for several awards in the county and district for the Reflections Cultural Arts programs in art and literature. This past year she won awards at the county and district levels in the literature category.
An art student under local artist Sarah Hasty-Williams, Miller concentrates on watercolors. She also enjoys distance running and swimming, reading and basketball. She is the daughter of Greg and Debbie Miller of Radford.
LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshots) Miller, Dangerfield, Winfrey.by CNB