Richard Ebright NORTH BRUNSWICK — Richard Y. Ebright and the Department of Parks, Recreation & Community Services’ 2009 Rapids Swim Team were honored during a North Brunswick council meeting Sept. 8.
Ebright is a high honor roll student and is a member of the National Honor Society and the Hispanic Honor Society at North Brunswick Township High School.
He has a 4.6 grade-point average, and received perfect SAT math, reading and writing scores as well as perfect SAT subject test scores in math, chemistry and history. He also received perfect Advanced Placement test scores in calculus, chemistry, biology, microeconomics, macroeconomics, history and English.
Ebright is captain of the high school Mathletes and is a member of the Central New Jersey American Regions Mathematics League team. He is on the executive board of the Model United Nations Club in school and is a participant in Model Congress, Fed Challenge, Chemistry Olympia, Raider Robotix, Key Club and the Human Rights Coalition.
He also plays tournament chess and has placed fourth or higher in New Jersey State Grade Chess Championships in each of the past four years.
Ebright has also won state and regional awards in badminton, and is a member of the high school tennis team. He is also a strong swimmer and has earned basic, intermediate and advanced certifications in SCUBA.
Outside of school, Ebright performed a research internship in molecular biology at Rutgers University in 2008. He is currently performing research internships in molecular biology at Rutgers and in nanotechnology at Columbia.
He was an oral presenter at the 2009 Northern Jersey Junior Science and Humanities Symposium, and he is a 2009-10 research scholar of the American Psychological Association/Dreyfus Foundation Catalyst Program.
In addition, Ebright is nationally ranked in orienteering, which is map and compass racing. He placed 11th in his age class in 2008. Also last year, he represented the United States at the World Trail Orienteering Championships in the Czech Republic. Currently, he is on the United States Trail Orienteering Standing Team.
He plans to study chemistry in college, with the goal of becoming a research chemist.
“I am very grateful and very thankful to receive this award,” he said.
Swim team recognized
The Rapids Swim Team achieved a record of 9-1 this season, and took first place during the championship event Aug. 1 at the North Brunswick Township High School pool.
Team coordinator Elizabeth Yarus said the group of boys and girls age 7 to 18 attended 7:30 a.m. practices and competed twice a week throughout the summer, and their hard work showed in both their individual and team accomplishments.
“The true philosophy of recreation is that everyone is a winner just by being part of a team,” DPRCS Director Lou Ann Benson said.
“Winning isn’t what it’s really about; it’s about doing well and competing against yourself and being a better swimmer,” Yarus said.