A senior with a strong interest in Earth sciences is Gilmer High School’s 2023 STAR Student.
STAR Student Allyson Muller earned the recognition for her academic achievement and performance on the SAT. She is the daughter of Paul Muller, of Ellijay.
To qualify for the academic honor, a student must have had the highest SAT score on a single test date and be in the top 10 percent or top 10 students of their class based on grade point average.
The STAR (Student Teacher Achievement Recognition) program is overseen by the Professional Association of Georgia Educators (PAGE), and the Ellijay Lions Club sponsors the program locally.
Each STAR Student also selects a STAR teacher who’s been most influential to their academic achievement. Muller chose Mary-Melissa May, GHS science instructor, as her STAR Teacher.
“We are very proud of Ms. Muller and Ms. May and the academic excellence they exemplify at Gilmer High,” said Derek Bowen, principal.
Honors biology and AP biology are the classes in which May taught Muller, who’s also an active member of the GHS chapter of the Science National Honor Society and the Envirothon team, both in which May is also involved.
May said Muller was among the Envirothon team members who participated in state competition in 2022 (which the GHS team won) and at the national Envirothon competition this past summer in New Brunswick, Canada.
“Allyson is a great example of a student who seizes every opportunity to grow both academically and as a person. She is very intelligent, but most importantly, she’s a hard worker. She is disciplined and gives 110 percent to her commitments,” said May. “She has always taken the most challenging courses available and is also active in many school organizations. She is usually one of the first to volunteer for activities such as KidsFest, STEM Fair and Literacy Night.”
About May’s impact as a teacher, Muller said, “Mrs. May went out of her way to support me and make sure I had what I needed. Ever since then, she’s been a constant force for good in my life that allowed me to fully pursue my passion for science. She has always been there for me and for that I am forever grateful.”
It should come as no surprise that Muller’s favorite subject is science. She is particularly interested in geology.
“For me, the natural world is this giant puzzle just waiting to be solved,” she said. “Doing science is like putting the pieces together to form this amazing and fascinating picture of how our world works. Luckily, there are multiple puzzles out there to solve.”
After graduation, Muller hopes to pursue a college education in geological engineering. She’s already been accepted to the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colo., which is one of the top engineering schools in the country.
“From there, I plan to continue with geology and be the first person in my family to get a Ph.D. Once I’m out of college, I want to work with the United States Geological Survey or on archeological/paleontological dig sites conducting research into the history of our earth and what that can tell us about other worlds,” Muller said.