USA TODAY Names 2009 All-USA College Academic First Team

MCLEAN, Va., April 29 /PRNewswire/ -- USA TODAY named 20 students to its twentieth annual All-USA College Academic Team, honoring them for outstanding intellectual achievement and leadership. The students will receive a $2,500 cash award.

"USA TODAY is pleased to be able to honor academic excellence and community service throughout the country," said USA TODAY editor John Hillkirk.

Following are the 20 First Team members and their hometowns:

• Jarrad Aguirre, Yale University, Home: Centennial, Colo.
• Charlene Bashore, Arizona State University, Home: Litchfield Park, Ariz. Matthew Baum, Yale University, Home: Watertown, Mass.
• Carrie Bryant, Middlebury College, Home: Wellesley, Mass.
• Emily Dawn Calandrelli, West Virginia University, Home: Morgantown, W.Va.
• Allen Cheng, Harvard University, Home: Arcadia, Calif.
• Meredith DeBoom, The University of Iowa, Home: Sibley, Iowa
• Darby Driscoll, United States Naval Academy, Home: Pennington, N.J.
• Mallory Dwinal, Northwestern University, Home: Gig Harbor, Wash.
• Brian Goh, Louisiana State University, Home: Denham Springs, La.
• Kelley Greenman, Washington University in St. Louis, Home: Marathon, Fla.
• Carrie Johnson, American University, Home: Yankton, S.D.
• Aaron Krolikowski, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Home: Glenwood, N.Y.
• Salman Mohammed, Johns Hopkins University, Home: Plano, Texas
• J. Patrick Nelli, Wake Forest University, Home: Gastonia, N.C.
• Aisha Ihab Saad, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Home: Cary, N.C.
• Virgil Secasanu, Georgia Institute of Technology, Home: Cumming, Ga.
• Anh C. Tran, University of Minnesota, Home: St. Cloud, Minn.
• Lisette Yorke, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Home: Hillside Boularderie, Nova Scotia, Canada
• Kelly Marie Zahalka, United States Naval Academy, Home: Richmond, Va.

The team of 20 was selected by a panel of judges from hundreds of students nominated by colleges and universities across the United States. Judges considered grades, leadership, activities and, most importantly, how students extend their intellectual talents beyond the classroom.

For more information on these winners as well as the second-, third- and honorable mention-team members, see the Wednesday, April 29, editions of USA TODAY or log on to

Criteria for the All-USA College Academic Team were developed in consultation with USA TODAY's education co-sponsors: the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU), the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), the American Council on Education (ACE) and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).

The 2009 All-USA College Academic Team final judges were:

• Frank J. Balz, National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities
• Robin Burns, American Association of University Professors
• Penelope Earley, George Mason University, Professor
• Christie Garton, 2001 All-USA College Academic First Team; Publisher and Author
• Timothy J. McDonough, American Council on Education

USA TODAY was founded in 1982 with a mission to serve as a forum for better understanding and unity to help make the USA truly one nation. Through its flagship newspaper and popular Web site, USA TODAY engages the national conversation and connects readers online through social media applications. USA TODAY, the nation's top-selling newspaper with a total average daily circulation of 2.1 million, and USATODAY.com, an award-winning newspaper Web site which launched in 1995, reach a combined 5.5 million readers daily. The USA TODAY news and information brand also includes: USA TODAY Education, USA TODAY LIVE, USA TODAY Mobile, Open Air magazine and USA TODAY Sports Weekly. USA TODAY is owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) .