DANIEL BORUP

URBANA — Senior Daniel Borup, already a candidate for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program, has been selected to represent Uni in the Chicago Tribune's 24th annual All-State Academic Team scholarship competition.

Each year, high schools throughout Illinois nominate one of their top students for the competition, which the late education reporter Casey Banas founded as a way to honor young people whose academic feats are often overshadowed by the attention given to athletes.

The Tribune divides the state into seven regions, and a panel of judges will narrow the field by choosing 10 students from each region for a total of 70 finalists. The decisions will be based on each student's application and essay as well as the nomination form submitted by the student's principal.

The all-state team will consist of just 10 students selected from the regional finalists, and each will receive a $2,000 college scholarship from the Chicago Tribune Foundation.

Panel members will consider academic accomplishments, extracurricular activities, and general well-roundedness in making their decisions.

Borup is no stranger to honors, having been named a National Merit semifinalist and finalist this year; twice he has been chosen as an all-state musician by the Illinois Music Educators Association. To round out his Uni career, he will play Tony this spring in the school's production of "West Side Story."

The Tribune will announce the all-state team in early May. The paper will publish articles about each of the winners.

Most recently, Annie Liang (Class of 2007) was selected as a Tribune regional finalist.

During the past 10 years, four Uni students have made the final team: Katie Carmody ('06), Valerie Ross ('04), Meera Sekar ('01), and Amy Chew ('99).