EDWARDSVILLE - District 7 recently honored Edwardsville High School seniors Margaret Anderson, Gwyneth Cross, Matthew Morse, and Eden Vitoff for being named as National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists in the 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program.
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Edwardsville High School Principal Dennis Cramsey said it is a significant accomplishment with four students making National Merit semifinalists.
“It shows nice representation of our students,” Cramsey said. “Four National Merit semifinalists is the most I recall in my years at the high school. I think it is not only a combination of the students’ hard work and dedication to academic studies, but what teachers are doing in the classroom with the rigor of courses and high expectations. When you add all that together with the great parental support we receive it is a perfection combination that makes our students successful.”
Additionally, EHS seniors Erik M. Andersen, Olivia N. Cho, Sophia E. Evans, William S. Jeziorski, Kayla J. Johnson, Pradeep V. Kandula, Henry Z. Lu, Amanda J. Schmidt, Rachel L. Shoenecker, and Jeffery T. Schulz, were named Commended Students.
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), which conducts the program, announced the names of approximately 16,000 Semifinalists in the 61st annual National Merit Scholarship Program.
These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,400 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $32 million that will be offered next spring.
To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. About 90 percent of the Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and about half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.
NMSC, a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance, was established in 1955 specifically to conduct the annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Scholarships are underwritten by NMSC with its own funds and by approximately 440 business organizations and higher education institutions that share nmsc’s goals of honoring the nation’s scholastic champions and encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence.
About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Although they will not continue in the 2016 competition for National Merit Scholarship Awards, Commended Students placed among the top five percent of more than 1.5 million students by taking the 2014 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).
Superintendent Lynda Andre extended her congratulations to the students at the Board of Education meeting on Monday night. “I want to congratulate all of these students on their outstanding achievements. We’re proud to have them as members of our school community,” Andre said.
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