Mississippi has 249 STAR Students for 2011. Two of them are from Warren County: Chelsea Worley of Warren Central High School and William Edwin “Hunter” Johnson III of St. Aloysius High School.

Sponsored by the Mississippi Economic Council and its M.B. Swayze Educational Foundation, the STAR Student program is designed to encourage academic excellence among the state’s high school students.

To qualify, students must be graduating high school seniors, have an ACT score of at least 25 and an overall average of 93 or above in selected subjects taken during the ninth, 10th and 11th grades and the first-semester of the 12th grade.

The state’s STAR Students were honored in April at a reception in Jackson sponsored by the MEC.

Worley was valedictorian of her class at Warren Central. She is the second in her family to be designated a STAR Student. Her brother Steven, she said, also was a STAR Student at Warren Central.

She said she enjoys math and science and plans to attend Ole Miss to major in chemical engineering. She wants to work in medical research.

During her four years at Warren Central, Worley took advanced placement courses in science, calculus and biology. She was a member of the softball team, National Honor Society, Beta Club, Mu Alpha Theta and the school’s Quiz Bowl team.

Johnson had a 4.4 grade average at St. Aloysius, where he took theology and advanced placement courses in calculus and English. He was a member of the student council, Key Club and Leo Club, and the track and cross country teams. He plans to attend the University of Dallas. His major is undecided, but he wants a career in politics or foreign affairs.

As part of their designation, STAR Students are asked to name a STAR Teacher, the one who, in their eyes, made the greatest contribution to their scholastic achievement.

Worley named Teri Vollor, who taught her world history in the 10th grade.

“I took her class, and my ACT score jumped 10 points,” Worley said. “We did a lot of reading and writing.”

Vollor has been a teacher for 15 years. She teaches history, science and economics and advanced placement world history and chemistry classes at Warren Central. She was the school’s Quiz Bowl sponsor.

Johnson’s STAR Teacher is theology teacher Joan Thornton.

“Of all the teachers I had, no one had gone out of their way for our class as much as she did,” he said. “She made our senior year so enjoyable.”

Thornton has been teaching theology for four years at St. Aloysius. She is the school’s volunteer service coordinator and teaches a course in heroic leadership at the high school.