The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation recognized Long Beach High School seniors Alexandra Kapilian and Jonathan Kapilian for their academic excellence, positive leadership and dedication to service.
   
The highly accomplished twins are among only 2,200 students who have earned the semifinalist distinction out of approximately 87,000 applicants across the nation. The award grants them both eligibility for the regional finalist level and potential to receive college scholarships.
   
Alexandra and Jonathan are IB Diploma Program candidates. Their respective extended essays focused on the challenges faced by women as displayed by a selection of Wendy Wasserstein plays and the effect of population density on carbon dioxide emissions per capita. They serve as co-founders and co-presidents of Mathletes and are also both award-winning science research students who participate in the Columbia Science Honors Program. The two students are musically inclined as well, each with many accomplishments to their names, and perform in school drama and musical productions.

Alexandra is Valedictorian of the Class of 2016. She is a National Honor Society member, Tri-M Music Honor Society’s vice president for community service, drum major for the marching band and interviewer for “The Morning Show” broadcast.  A bassoonist and vocalist, Alexandra was selected as an All-State musician for two years in a row and is a five-time All-County participant. She was accepted to the New York State Summer School of the Arts as one of four top bassoonists in the state and was recognized by the Long Island Arts Alliance as a Scholar-Artist in September.

Jonathan was named a National Merit Semifinalist through the National Merit Scholarship Program and was recognized as a Long Island Young Scholar of Mathematics through the Institute of Creative Problem Solving. He is also a National Honor Society member and served as president of the Tri-M Music Honor Society. A vocalist and cellist, Jonathan was chosen to attend the National Association for Music Education’s All-National Honor Ensembles performance, for which he traveled Tennessee in October. He was selected as an All-State musician last year and is a six-time All-County performer, as well as a two-time Long Island String Festival participant. Like Alexandra, he earned admission to the New York State Summer School of the Arts’ School of Orchestral Studies.

The Coca-Cola system believes that investing in students who are leaders, both academically and in service to others, will result in positive, lasting change and sustainable communities. The Foundation will next select 250 Regional Finalists and will eventually narrow its honorees down to 150 scholars who will be invited to attend a Scholars Weekend in Atlanta in the spring.