Advertisement

Top scholar: Delaney Abood

 
In addition to outstanding extracurricular activities, Delaney Abood earned a 4.6 GPA and a SAT score of 2110 to add to her academic resume.
In addition to outstanding extracurricular activities, Delaney Abood earned a 4.6 GPA and a SAT score of 2110 to add to her academic resume.
Published April 15, 2015

Over a quarter million dollars worth of combined scholarship money is an amount heavy enough to drop a few jaws. For those hoping to reap the same benefits as one of Clearwater Central Catholic's finest scholars and a true pro at the college admissions game, senior Delaney Abood, a 4.6 GPA, SAT score of 2110 and outstanding extracurricular activities and awards are a good start. Of course surpassing the class grade of every other student enrolled in almost any given course doesn't hurt, either.

Being the best of the best is something many strive for and may never achieve. For Abood, it's a feat frequently conquered. Thirteen times, she has prevailed in having the highest GPA over the course of a year in a subject. In her freshman year, she was the top scorer in speech and debate, Spanish honors, geometry honors, biology honors and English 1 honors.

During her sophomore year, she expanded upon her long list of accolades by defeating dozens of other students in races for the top grades in journalism, Spanish 3 honors, chemistry honors, algebra 2 honors and English 2 honors.

Abood amped things up even more during her junior year when she took home the title of top student in three International Baccalaureate classes: chemistry 2 SL, biology 1 HL, and pre-calculus SL. What makes these achievements even more impressive is the fact that Abood did not simply beat out peers in her own class period. To claim each award, she excelled past students in every period of the same course.

Abood is a member of the National Honor Society, of which she served as the vice president. She is also a member of the science, history, Spanish, math and Quill and Scroll honor societies.

Girls State is one of the most prestigious extracurricular activities, so it should come as no surprise that Abood was selected by the American Legion Auxiliary to attend Florida Girls State as a delegate the summer after her junior year. While there, she was elected into the model House of Representatives in which she voted on proposed bills from the other Girls State attendees. She amended her own bill as well, and it was subsequently passed.

Abood excelled in both tennis and basketball in all her years of high school, and she served as the Varsity Girls Basketball team captain both her sophomore and junior years. She was named the State Farm Student-Athlete of the month during her freshman year. She is also the president of the Student Ambassadors club, so she organizes visits to middle schools and events for incoming freshmen and leads tours of the school.

This year, Clearwater Central Catholic's state-renowned cast of Pippin was Abood's extended family as she performed in the winning show. To top it all off, Abood served on the student council her sophomore, junior and senior years.

A service-minded young woman, Abood won the Anne Frank Humanitarian Award her junior year for her 1000+ hours invested in Camp COAST (Children On the Autism Spectrum Together). She has been involved in the camp during every year of high school, assisting with activities such as horseback riding, swimming, field trips and crafts, which are all aimed toward teaching the children how to behave properly in social situations and focus for extended periods of time.

Stay updated on Tampa Bay’s sports scene

Subscribe to our free Sports Today newsletter

We’ll send you news and analysis on the Bucs, Lightning, Rays and Florida’s college football teams every day.

You’re all signed up!

Want more of our free, weekly newsletters in your inbox? Let’s get started.

Explore all your options

With such a colorful resume, it's easy to see why Abood is an excellent prospect for many universities. Her top three choices are Oglethorpe University in Atlanta (recipient of Presidential Scholarship with Honors), Northeastern University in Boston (Northeastern Excellence Scholarship), and the University of Florida Honors. She also received Presidential Scholarships for both Florida State University and the University of Miami.