This year an abnormally low number of seniors will qualify for entrance into the Circle of Scholars. Only four to five students are likely to be admitted, but the ultimate number will not be known until final grades come out. Typically, 13 to 21 students qualify. To make it into the Circle, students must be either Magna Cum Laude (93-95.99 percent) or Summa Cum Laude (96-100 percent) with their weighted average. Even though the requirement for National Honor Society is a 93 percent average, not all NHS students will make it. Falling grades in the junior and senior year keep several students out. Ms. Ross partially attributes this to the fact that the current seniors’ “test scores are not as strong.” At graduation, members of the Circle will be wearing special cords to distinguish themselves. They will also be invited to a special dinner on June 9 hosted by the Freedom Area Education Association. The FAEA will be awarding $2,000 in scholarships to one or several of the students. The keynote address will be given by the valedictorian from 1996, Joyce Visnansky-Harrell. The few who did make it will be joining the ranks of notable Freedom alumni. Joe Linta, valedictorian from 1978, went on to play defensive tackle for Yale University. He is now an NFLPA licensed agent who owns his own company, JL Sports, which has represented more than 60 NFL players. The 2006 valedictorian, James Harrell, just received a 2010 Fulbright Scholarship to teach political science, focusing on the American Civil Rights movement in Hungary.