Senior Indra Sofian was named Darlington's 2014 STAR Student during assembly on Feb. 24, at which time he selected History Department Chairman Craig Schmidt as his STAR Teacher. The awards were presented by Jan Fergerson, representing the Greater Rome Chamber of Commerce.
"My STAR teacher teaches with passion. He loves what he does," Sofian said. "When you walk into his classroom, you can’t help but learn everything you expected to learn and more, even if you weren’t planning on listening in class. I still go to his room every day, even though I haven’t had his class since sophomore year, and I still learn from him. And he never stops learning, either. I’m proud to have a mentor like Mr. Schmidt, and what he’s taught me will stay with me for the rest of my life."Schmidt, who has worked at Darlington since 1986, teaches Ancient World History Honors, AP World History and AP European History.
Sofian, a day student, has taken 19 Honors and AP courses at Darlington. He is a member of Mu Alpha Theta, Spanish National Honor Society, the Math Team, the Chess Club, Coosa International Tennis Academy, the varsity tennis team, IMPACT Club, The Inkslinger staff and serves as an Admission Tiger Expert. A National Merit Scholarship finalist, Sofian has also received the E.L. Wright Award for Algebra 2 Honors, the University of Georgia Certificate of Merit and the Yale Book Award and the 2013 Scholar-Athlete Award for varsity tennis. He is an AP Scholar with Distinction. He is the son of Erwin Sofian and Julita Roesli of Rockmart, Ga.
The STAR Student is the senior who scores highest on the SAT during a single-day attempt and is also in the Top 10 percent of their class based on grade point average. The PAGE Student Teacher Achievement Recognition (STAR) program, in its 55th year, is sponsored by the Professional Association of Georgia Educators (PAGE) Foundation, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the Georgia Department of Education. Since its inception, the STAR program has honored more than 21,000 students and teachers.
