portsmouth abbey news
Jennifer Shon ’25 Named U.S. Presidential Scholar
National recognition caps an extraordinary Abbey career marked by curiosity, creativity and quiet excellence.
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Jennifer Shon '25 pictured at Prize Day 2025 with (l-r) her brother David '22, father, Dr. Won Jun Shon and mother, Dr. Hae Won Choi. |
Recent Portsmouth Abbey School graduate Jennifer Shon ’25 has been named a U.S. Presidential Scholar, one of only 121 students nationwide and just five from Rhode Island to receive the distinction. Established in 1964 by executive order of President Lyndon B. Johnson, the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program honors the nation’s most distinguished graduating seniors for academic excellence, leadership and service.
Selection begins with exceptional performance on standardized testing and proceeds through a rigorous application process of essays, recommendations, and evaluation by an independent committee of educators convened by the U.S. Department of Education. Out of thousands of applicants, up to 161 students are chosen each year.
Portsmouth Abbey Science Department Chair Dr. Steve Zins, who worked closely with Jennifer throughout her time at the Abbey, describes her as the rare combination of brilliance, curiosity and humility. He noted that her many accolades were never about pride, but about “a deep investment in exploring her ideas to the fullest.” Zins added that Jennifer’s openness to feedback set her apart. When encouraged to simplify a project, she immediately recognized that clarity could lead to new insight. That realization, Zins said, opened something for her, allowing her to pursue the work with fresh determination and to model what it means to set a goal, to work hard and to see it through.
Jennifer’s recognition crowns an exceptional Abbey career distinguished by excellence across disciplines. A two-time “Best in Fair” winner at the Rhode Island Science and Engineering Fair, she also earned the American Chemical Society Rhode Island Chapter Award and the Jackson Memorial Award for excellence in biological sciences. Twice she represented Rhode Island at the International Science and Engineering Fair, earning Grand Awards both years.
Her intellectual reach extended well beyond science. In Model United Nations, she received the Best Delegate Award at the 2025 Boston Model UN and the Outstanding Delegate Award the previous year. In the arts, she won first place in the Rhode Island Poetry Out Loud Competition and later the national title for her original poem “My Hanbando.” She was twice recognized at the state level and, as concertmaster at the Rhode Island All-State Music Festival, was named the second top violinist in the state.
Her leadership and versatility were also apparent in athletics. A member of the Abbey girls golf team, she earned the Dorment Family Golf Trophy, awarded to the player who best exemplifies leadership, skill, humility and passion for the game.
Jennifer’s accomplishments were matched by her character. She was elected to the Cum Laude Society and received the Rev. John O’Rourke Memorial Prize for excellence in Sixth-Form English, the Public Speaking Award, and the William Griffin Kelley Memorial Trophy, given annually by faculty vote to a Sixth Former whose academic, athletic, and personal contributions embody humaneness, humility and humor.
A prefect in St. Mary’s House and one of the Commencement Speakers for the Class of 2025, Jennifer has long represented what is best in Portsmouth Abbey students: intellectual curiosity, deep grounding and quiet luminosity. Her recognition as a Presidential Scholar stands not only as a personal honor but as a reflection of the spirit of learning, humility, and purpose that the Abbey strives to cultivate in all its graduates.