Famously Fantastic Feffers

Famously+Fantastic+Feffers

Grace Biddle, Staff Writer

There seems to be a sort of Feffer legacy here at State High, and Joey Feffer is keeping this legacy alive. Joey was named a United States Presidential Scholar this Spring. This is one of the highest awards a high school student can receive. This accomplishment takes a lot of time and effort to achieve. “I was proud of the essays I wrote and knew that if the committee felt how I did, I would get it. I never really felt that it was that out of reach. I knew most of the other kids that applied through camps or just as friends. So I knew who my competition was going to be,” Feffer said.   

One male and one female student are selected from each state,(including Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and families of U.S. citizens living abroad). for their ability in career and technical education fields, and selected 20 students for their exceptional talent in visual and performing arts, and 15 students at large are selected for this award. Joey’s sister Danielle was also honored with this award in 2012, beginning the Feffer family legacy. Feffer said, “After my sister got it (the award) I knew that I wanted to try to get it. I knew I had to do well on standardized testing so all last summer I worked to get ready for the ACT. I ended up doing well on it so in January I was invited to apply. I really look up to my sister. She went to Harvard as well.”

After going to State High for over 8 years, Feffer has taken almost every math and science class. He is especially interested in these fields, but he needs some new material. “I skipped 10th grade. At first it was awkward being in the same class as my brother, (Nick Feffer) but now I feel like I’ve been accepted as a member of the class of 2017,” Feffer said. Nick remembers Joey’s intelligence and capability for learning coming from a young age but gradually. “I remember that one day, he (Joey) felt inspired to do a few extra pages of math homework (when they were being homeschooled) and he did more the next day and the next day, and soon he was units and books ahead of my little sister and I. That’s where it all started,” Nick said.

Feffer also announced that he has chosen to go to Harvard over M.I.T. “It was an extremely hard decision. I was agonizing over pros and cons for months. But once I visited both schools and talked to the students at each one, I realized Harvard was where I wanted to go,” Joey Feffer said.

The ceremony presenting Joey’s award will be held in June in Washington D.C. Traditionally the Secretary of State will give a speech and the winners will go on a tour of the White House.