Sacred Heart Academy (SHA) is proud to announce that 16 members of the class of 2009 have earned full International Baccalaureate diplomas awarded by the International Baccalaureate Organization based in Geneva, Switzerland. The recipients of these diplomas and the universities they are now attending are as follows:

Lauren Bajorinas (University of Southern California)
Megan Burd (University of Kentucky)
Alexa Deep (University of Kentucky)
Elizabeth Frank (University of Kentucky)
Victoria Greenstone (Vanderbilt University)
Jessica Lindner (Michigan State University)
Julia Neidhardt (Knox College)
Elizabeth Otting (Vanderbilt University)
Rima Patel (University of Louisville)
Lauren Poole (University of Louisville)
Amanda Reynolds (Western Kentucky University)
Mary Katherine Scheid (Auburn University)
Jennifer Semones (Santa Clara University)
Emily Spanyer (Washington and Lee University)
Dara Stilger (Vanderbilt University)
Mary Catherine Woeste (University of South Carolina)

These students earned the prestigious IB Diploma by fulfilling the following requirements: following a rigorous curriculum of IB courses over two years, completing and satisfactorily passing 25 hours of international examinations, submitting a variety of other assessments tied to each course, completing a minimum of 150 hours of CAS (Creativity, Action, and Service), and writing a 4000-word extended essay on a topic of their choice under the guidance of a faculty mentor.

Ninety-four percent of SHA’s May 2009 IB Diploma candidates earned the diploma. This compares to an average rate of 83 percent in the world. In nine years, 200 Sacred Heart Academy graduates have earned IB diplomas, for an overall success rate of 96 percent.

In addition, another 70 students from the class of 2009 earned IB Certificates in one or more subject areas.