A student from Perry High School was recently recognized for a high honor in a statewide academic competition. 

According to High School History Teacher Carlos Preciado, senior Emilie Bates was named as a finalist for the Iowa State Bar Association “Know Your Constitution” project. He details that there were over 500 students that participated in the program across the state, and Bates is one out of 65 individuals that were selected in the top percentile. Bates tells Raccoon Valley Radio that she was over the moon about winning, even though it wasn’t her goal.

“I was completely surprised. I was not intending on winning, I just did it based off the knowledge I had and then I found out I won, and I was very excited.”

Bates explains that this was the first time she cooperated for the program and that she had to fill out 50 questions plus an essay prompt on the Iowa State Bar Association website that was due in the beginning of December. Preciado comments that Bates, along with the rest of the finalists, will attend an awards luncheon in Des Moines on January 24th, where five students and their teachers will be picked at random to receive scholarship grants for their efforts.