In its 58th year, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Scholar Athlete program honors one student from every area high school, a requirement being that they participate in athletics and excel in the classroom.
The Scholar Athlete Program was the brainchild of Hall of Fame Baseball Writer Bob Broeg in 1965. Broeg wanted to honor high school seniors whose success was not only on the field, court or ice rink — but students who excelled in the classroom as well.
These are young men and women who lettered in at least one varsity sport, are in the top 25 percent of their graduating class and are in good standing at their respective high schools.
Rafay Cheema is Liberty's 2024 Post-Dispatch Scholar Athlete. A tennis standout, Cheema achieved perfect scores on both the ACT (36) and SAT (1570). He is heading to Boston University.
Aleksei Juracsik is Maplewood-Richmond Heights' 2024 Post-Dispatch Scholar Athlete. A distance runner for the Blue Devils, he will attend Washington University.
Ne'Vaeh Dudley is Hazelwood East's 2024 Post-Dispatch Scholar Athlete. Dudley is crossing off a list of goals, which include attending Howard University in Washington D.C.
Tyrus Carter is Red Bud's 2024 Post-Dispatch Scholar Athlete. The valedictorian is a three-sport athlete and has received an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Zhakeya Hawkins is East St. Louis' 2024 Post-Dispatch Scholar Athlete. Dually enrolled at Southwestern Illinois College, Hawkins' interests include gardening, calculus and nutrition.
Abby Brown is Winfield's 2024 Post-Dispatch Scholar Athlete. She hopes to become a pediatric oncology nurse to pay forward the care she got as a childhood cancer patient.
Ashlynn Samson is Belleville East's 2024 Post-Dispatch Scholar Athlete. The future college softball player hopes to work as an executive in professional baseball.
