Elk County Catholic High School is pleased to announce that graduating senior Christopher Brennen is the recipient of the third Gary and Laura Anderson Advanced Placement Scholarship.
The Anderson family recently established the $1,000 scholarships to recognize ECCHS students who receive a score of 5 (Mastery of Subject) on the highest-level Advanced Placement College exam in a science, technology, engineering, math or medical course.
Christopher received a 5 in Computer Science A (Computer Science II), which is generally limited to top STEM students across the country. Fewer than 200 graduating seniors in Pennsylvania to receive a 5 in this course. He graduated in May from ECCHS and is attending Penn State Dubois, where he plans to major in Software Engineering and complete his degree at Penn State Behrend.
“Christopher is a talented programmer with a solid understanding of the logical concepts required to excel in computer science,” said Marlene Stubber, who teaches AP Computer Science at ECCHS and also runs the school’s technology department. “He worked very hard, even during remote learning. We never slowed down in the course. He knew that he would need to understand and apply complex concepts to do well on the exam. I am impressed by his achievement, but not surprised. He earned it.”
“We are thrilled that Christopher is receiving this scholarship,” said Laura Anderson. “He is an extremely bright young man, and he has channeled his talents in a very productive way during his time at ECC. I look forward to seeing all the things he will achieve, and how he will use his many talents to make the world a better place.”
“Christopher demonstrates that ECC graduates are prepared to compete at the highest levels,” added Gary Anderson. “He demonstrates what our students can achieve when they work hard and aim high.”
“I am thrilled that Gary and Laura Anderson have established these scholarships to recognize students like Christopher,” said ECCSS President Sam MacDonald. “This incentivizes them to excel in challenging STEM courses. Mrs. Anderson has been a lead teacher in our science department for years. In addition to serving as an ECCSS board member, Gary is the Vice President of Engineering and Research at Keystone Powdered Metal. These scholarships solidify their demonstrated commitment to Elk County, to Elk County Catholic, and to our students.”
MacDonald added that ECCHS students performed very well across a host of AP exams, despite the pandemic. “Our scores were at or above state or national in most of our AP courses,” he said. “Mrs. Grace Messineo, our AP English teacher, has been so successful that for the second year in a row, she was invited to score exams from across the country. Our AP Language results were more than 15 percent above national average. We had students scoring 4s and 5s in AP Calculus, Language and Literature exams.”
“We offer a lot of AP courses for a school our size, and we encourage our students to take advantage of them. It is a great way to save money on college credits, but just as important it gives our kids a taste of the work required in college level courses. The kids really did a great job of persevering under difficult circumstances this year, and I am really proud of them.”
Christopher Brennen is the son of Mark Brennen and Ann Marie Brennen, of St. Marys.
