Incirlik student earns AP Scholar Award

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Anthony J. Hyatt
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  A student attending Incirlik Unit School here recently earned a College Board's Advanced Placement Program Scholar Award in recognition of exceptional achievement on AP exams.

Chelsea Eckert, a senior at IUS, scored two 3s and two 4s on four AP exams she took, which qualified her for the award.

According to the College Board website, AP Exam scores are reported on a five-point scale as follows: five for extremely well qualified, four for well qualified, three for qualified, two for possibly qualified and one for no recommendation.

"Usually, I have hours of homework after practice," Chelsea said. "But, I want to be somebody in the world when I get older, and I want to put myself in the position that I will be able to do that and get into a good college, of course."

Chelsea is the daughter of Master Sgt. Thomas Eckert and Mary Eckert. Between softball and volleyball, the senior has managed to soar academically.

"Her mother and I are very proud of her," said Sergeant Eckert, the 39th Civil Engineer Squadron Expeditionary Engineering NCO in charge. "And, it is nice to see students recognized for their academic achievements and not just sports."

Her parents weren't surprised when they found out their daughter was being recognized.

She is very smart and very self-motivated and she treats school work like sports--she always wants to win the competition, her parents said.

Her teachers at IUS agreed.

"Chelsea is the rare combination of intelligence and work ethic," said Beth Ann Matar, an IUS AP teacher. "She is very deserving of this award."

After graduation, Chelsea hopes to attend college in New Mexico, Michigan, Colorado or Missouri and plans to study aerospace and aeronautical engineering.

AP provides motivated and academically prepared students with the opportunity to earn college credit or advanced placement and stand out in the college admissions process through more than 30 different college-level courses and exams, according to the website.

Research has consistently shown that AP students who score a three or higher on AP Exams, typically experience greater academic success in college and higher graduation rates than students who do not participate in AP according to the College Board website.