Press Release Immediate
Carol Ciepluch
Public Relations I Communications Liaison
North Springs Charter High School
7447 Roswell Rd.
Sandy Springs, GA. 30328
470.254.2490
Pr@northspringshigh.com
North Springs Charter High School announces
Luke Muehring as 2016 STAR Student and
Rahim Ghassemian as 2016 STAR Teacher
Sandy Springs - February 2, 2016 - - North Springs Charter High School (NSCHS) is pleased to
announce that scholar athlete Luke Muehring has been named the school’s 2016 STAR
Student. Muehring, 17, is the son of Mitch and Veronica Muehring of Dunwoody, Georgia.
A math and science magnet student Muehring has a perfect score in math (800) and to qualify
as STAR student, the highest SAT score (2350) taken at one sitting of any senior in his class.
In addition to having taken 13 AP classes including Multi Variable Calculus through North
Springs’ distance learning class with Georgia Tech, Muehring is a world class athlete in Speed
Climbing, scaling a 15 meter wall in just over 7 seconds.
This past August he traveled to Arco, Italy, as a member of the four man US Speed Climbing
team, to compete with athletes from 55 countries in the 2015 Youth World Climbing
Championships. Ranked 3rd in the USA, he is now ranked 10th in the World in Speed Climbing
in the 16-17 year old category, following his success in Arco.
Additionally, Muehring is a 2016 National Merit Semifinalist, a National AP Scholar with
Distinction, a member of National Honor Society and a Georgia Certificate of Merit Scholar. For
the past two years he has served as the president and founder of the SAT Club at North
Springs, coordinating tutoring and coaching for students needing help with standardized tests.
Since 2014, he has also volunteered with Catalyst Sports, assisting in coaching, fundraising and
organizing rock climbing events for people with physical disabilities and an interest in rock
climbing.
Muehring, a recipient of the UGA Presidential Leadership Award, is currently a semifinalist for
Georgia Tech’s presidential scholarship and a finalist for Southern Methodist University’s (SMU)
Presidential Scholar award. While he is not certain where he will be going to college, he intends
to pursue a focus in technology and continue speed climbing.
Muehring selected his North Springs’ AP Calculus teacher, Rahim Ghassemian, as STAR
teacher. Ghassemian, who holds a degree in metallurgical engineering from Iran’s Sharif
University, and undergraduate and Master’s degree in math education from Kennesaw State
University, has been teaching mathematics- including AP Calculus AB/BC, Math of Industry and
Government, Geometry, Algebra and math support at North Springs for the past eight years.
In addition to teaching, he has spent nearly 35 years translating over 25 books of nonfiction
including film history, movies, politics, history and media from English into Farsi. This is the
second time he has been honored as North Springs’ STAR Teacher. //
North Springs Charter High School, located in Sandy Springs, is proud to offer the only dual arts
and sciences magnet programs in Georgia. More information at www.northspringshigh.com