Two Johnson County students are among the state’s brightest students and best leaders outside the classroom.
Center Grove High School senior Brinna Porat was one of 50 Academic All-Star Regional Honorees, while Whiteland Community High School senior Savannah Venter was one of 40 students to be named an Indiana Academic All-Star from a field of 276 nominees, honors bestowed by the Indiana Association of School Principals.
In order to be considered for the distinction, students must have a high GPA with a focus on Advanced Placement, Dual Credit, International Baccalaureate and Advanced College Placement classes. They must also take part in extracurricular and community service activities, according to an IASP news release.
Brinna Porat
When she’s not maintaining her 4.7 GPA, Porat is a key part of both the Center Grove High School robotics team and the Debtones show choir.
Center Grove High School senior Brinna Porat, one of 50 Academic All-Star Regional Honorees, poses with her certificate during a ceremony April 20 at the Indiana Roof Ballroom in Indianapolis.
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Porat has been part of the robotics team for 10 years, and plays a mentor role on the team now, helping students in elementary and middle school who have an interest in robotics. She’s taken a leadership role by being on the student board of directors for FIRST Indiana Robotics, enthralled by the creativity and problem solving involved with it.
Porat was also one of four students named to Gov. Eric Holcomb’s STEM team. She represents the technology aspect of the science, technology, engineering and math acronym, according to a news release from the Indiana Department of Education, which noted her work with computer-aided design and Adobe products to build, drive and design robots.
Porat serves as the Debtones choir costume manager. Being part of the choir, which has taken home Grand National Champion awards back-to-back years, is no easy task. Both robotics and choir have the same winter season, meaning from January to March, Porat would practice with the show choir after school until 6 p.m. and then work with the robotics team until 9 p.m., she said.
“I wanted to be well-rounded and participate in as many things as possible. I wanted to perform and still do robotics. It’s a hard thing for me to do the past two years, but I wanted to continue to do what I love and gain the skills from those things,” Porat said.
Along with her extracurricular activities, Porat isn’t taking it easy senior year. She’s taking Advanced Placement classes in literature, economics, government, biology and calculus. She plans to study biomedical engineering on a pre-med track at Purdue University starting this fall and already has experience through an internship with Franciscan Health.
“Ever since I could talk I would say I wanted to be a doctor. That’s still my answer today,” Porat said. “I love helping people, I love the science of medicine and making an impact and doing something different every day.”
Savannah Venter
Student leader Venter maintains a 4.4 GPA at Whiteland High School while making time for the things she loves. She’s a dancer and serves as vice president of both the National Honors Society and Student Council, and is also a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Whiteland Community High School Principal Benji Betts, left and Whiteland Community High School math teacher Timothy Fish pose for a photo with Whiteland Community High School senior Savannah Venter as she receives the distinction of Indiana Academic All-Star.
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Outside of school, her biggest passion is dance. She’s been a dancer at Tippy Toes School of Dance on the southside for 15 years. Through her 15 years there, she’s focused on ballet, taken on competitions and taught other students, she said.
“I’ve learned a lot about time management during my four years in (high) school,” Venter said. “I have my daily to-do list. At the beginning of every month, I map out the whole month with what my dance competitions will look like, what my big assignments are. If I ever have to miss school I’m ahead of that and a teacher will catch me up on things.”
Despite the temptations of slacking off as she nears the end of her high school career, she’s been consistently dedicated to her academic life, earning a spot on the Honor Roll all four years of high school, she said.
“My family is a big motivator,” Venter said. “My family has not just expected a lot of me but they’re supportive in everything I do. It makes me want to do more and be better. My sister is always encouraging me to get that ‘A’ and think more deeply. That’s a big motivator to me.”
This fall Venter will join her sister at Georgetown University. She’s been accepted to the university’s College of Arts & Sciences, and plans to major in biochemistry on the pre-med track.
“I’ve always really loved to learn how the body works, so I knew medicine would be the way to go,” Venter said. “I spent two weeks at Harvard (University) last summer studying oncology. I love studying the biology of cancer and molecules that lead to cancer and how to fight it. There are a lot of opportunities to learn more about it.”
The Indiana Academic All-Star title shows Venter her hard work has been recognized, she said.
“It’s a really big honor and I can’t even put into words how excited and thankful I am for it. It’s just really crazy to be able to receive that,” Venter said. “I think my future career choices will make big changes in the world. I’ll be part of something bigger than myself. It’s what I’ve been working toward until now.”
