Eleven area high school students were recognized recently with a book award from the South of the James Alumni Chapter of The College of William and Mary Alumni Association. The purpose of the award is to reinforce the goals of The College of William and Mary, attract the most highly qualified students and acquaint recipients with the college.

Students who are eligible to receive the annual book award are high school juniors who are residents or attend schools in the counties of Isle of Wight, Southampton, Surry and Sussex and the cities of Franklin and Suffolk the South of the James Chapter area. The award is always a book written or edited by a William and Mary alumnus or faculty member. This year’s selection was the most recent version of “Hark Upon the Gale: An Illustrated History of the College of William and Mary in Virginia” first published in 1985, written by Wilford Kale, a William and Mary alumnus, and featuring a foreword by Margaret Thatcher.

Student winners of the Book Award are selected by each local school, using the following criteria: class rank and cumulative grade-point average; qualifications for the most highly selective college or university; outstanding curricular achievement and volunteer service; and demonstrated leadership in the community of the school.

This year’s recipients include Kayla Vincent of King’s Fork High School; Melissa A. Lewis of Lakeland High School; Krysta S. Jewette of Nansemond River High School; Benjamin Wilson of Nansemond-Suffolk Academy; Alexia Isabel Castillo of Isle of Wight Academy; Kayla Cummings of Smithfield High School; William Archer of Windsor High School; Cheyanne Banks of Franklin High School; Anna Rebekah Carr of Southampton Academy; Samantha Leigh Billups of Southampton High School; and Katherine Collier of Surry County High School.