Starr’s Mill announced this year’s STAR student Kaitlyn Doyle and STAR teacher Dr. Bonnie Stanford. 

To receive the STAR nomination, Doyle scored a 1520 on the SAT, the highest single test score in the senior class in a single sitting. She is also in the top 10% of her class. 

“Kaitlyn is intelligent, she is sweet, she is kind, she is a great listener, she is curious. She is the type of student that doesn’t just want good grades to have good grades,” Stanford said. ”She wants to know things and explain things and she wants to know things other people know about that she maybe hasn’t experienced yet. She is just a great learner, and I know it is going to make her a really great adult.” 

The Student Teacher Achievement Recognition program has been honoring teachers and students for 63 years. Over 28,000 students have been recognized throughout the program’s history. STAR students select their STAR teachers, generally choosing a teacher who has had a significant impact on their lives.

“[The creative writing] class changed my life. [Dr. Stanford] was always someone who inspired me, and she always pushed me to do my best,” Doyle said. “It was a non-judgmental place, where I could bounce my ideas off of her, and anyone else in that class really. I really just thrived in her class.”

Doyle will attend the University of Georgia. Her plan going into college is to be involved in many different activities and to take a variety of classes to see what she is interested in.  

Each school in the county selects a STAR student. The student who has the highest SAT score from that group moves on to the regional competition. Because of a tie, Fayette County will send three students, two from McIntosh High School and one from Whitewater High School.