L-R: Ridge Ridenour, Max Stetter, Landon Brice
A resident of Dunwoody, Ridge is graduating from Greater Atlanta Christian Academy and plans to enroll at Georgia Tech this fall. At GAC, Ridge served as a student ministry leader and a math tutor. This year, he was selected to serve as one of the schools seven “Unity Prefects,” which Max describes as school leaders whose primary job is to build an atmosphere of unity and cohesiveness among the student body. Ridge was also an athlete, participating on the cross-country, tennis, volleyball, and track and field teams. He was selected for membership in the National Honor Society, the Math National Honor Society, and the Beta Club.
In his junior year, Ridge received both the scholarship award and the Harvard Book Award, which is given by the Harvard Alumni Association at approximately 2,000 high schools across the country. The award goes to the junior who “displays excellence in scholarship and high character, combined with achievements in other fields.” Ridge also stood out academically, taking 10 AP classes and earning scores that qualified him as an AP Scholar of Distinction. Ridge engaged in a variety of community service activities, including food drives, cleaning up outside community spaces, serving as a team leadership program member for Pebble Tossers, and going on a mission trip to Guatemala. And again, very impressively, Ridge balanced his athletics, academics, extracurriculars, and community service with paying jobs that included summer work as a camp counselor and other work in a restaurant.
Max is graduating from Dunwoody High School, and this fall he plans to enroll Georgia Tech. While at Dunwoody, Max excelled academically. He took dual enrollment classes at Georgia Tech, took 8 AP classes, was recognized as an AP scholar with distinction, and was certified as being bilingual by the State of Georgia. He was selected for membership in an impressive variety of Honor Societies. Max was also a varsity athlete, competing on Dunwoody’s varsity Swim and Dive Team, where this year, he served as a co-captain. During his high school career, Max was very involved in the Young Men’s Service League, and he served as president of his Chapter during his junior year. Max also spent many years as an active Boy Scout, and in 2022, he achieved the coveted rank of Eagle Scout.
What stood out to the committee about Max’s community service was his focus on addressing the issue of food insecurity —which he recognized as a prevalent and increasing problem even in relatively affluent communities such as ours.
Finally, and perhaps most impressively, Max balanced academics, community service, and extracurriculars with paying jobs. He worked summers as a lifeguard and swim coach, and he also maintains a yard maintenance business, a pet sitting and walking service, and offers babysitting services.
Our third scholarship recipient is Landon Brice, who is graduating from the Mount Vernon School, and will start his freshman year at the University of Chicago. During his time at Mount Vernon, Landon served 3 years on the academic prefect committee, meaning he was one of 5 student leaders responsible for helping design curriculums, facilitating prospective faculty interviews, and developing a student-resource hub. He initiated and executed student observations of classrooms to provide feedback for teachers, and served 4 years as a Student Tours Ambassador.
During his senior year, Landon co-founded “Boys Talk,” which was a weekly conversation for middle school boys in which older students served as a mentor, teacher, and friend for boys at this formative stage in their lives. Landon also tutored other students at the school in STEM subjects.
During his sophomore year, Landon won the chance to construct a themed, 9-hole golf course on campus. Using his math skills, Landon designed and built a functional course. Perhaps based on that experience he was asked to construct a bridge for the school’s cross-country trail. Landon created a prototype and presented the proposal to the school’s Chief Financial Officer, together with a list of needed materials and projected costs. The project was approved, and the bridge was constructed. Landon naturally excelled academically, taking 8 A-P courses, the maximum number allowed by Mount Vernon. Landon was selected for membership in the National Honor Society, and served as vice president his senior year. He was also selected for membership in the National Spanish Honor Society and was nominated for the Governor’s Honors Program in mathematics.