Nineteen Midway High School students and graduates have earned recognition through the National Merit Scholarship Program, a 90% increase over last year’s total of 10.
The group includes five National Merit Semifinalists and 14 Commended Students. The number of Commended Students doubled from seven last year, while the number of Semifinalists increased from three to five.
Midway’s five Semifinalists are Luke Fineske, Yuri Hatakeyama, Samantha Lewis, Vihaan Sibal and Anthony Zavala. They join approximately 16,000 Semifinalists nationwide, representing the highest-scoring entrants in each state.
Midway’s 14 Commended Students are Eduardo Abad Zavala, Yusuf Altun, Glenn Eshelman, Sarah Freeman, Ethan Fronk, Hana Hunziker, Kaitlyn Leung, Timothy MacGregor, Elva Qiao, John Rowley, Elias Salibi, Kendall Schaffer, Clark Wash and Noah Yadav. Fronk has already graduated from Midway High School.
“We’re proud of these students for the curiosity, discipline and effort they bring to their learning every day,” MHS Principal Alison Smith said. “This recognition celebrates their individual accomplishments and the teachers and families who have supported them along the way.”
Semifinalist standing opens the next stage of the scholarship competition. To advance, students must submit a scholarship application, maintain a consistently high academic record, write an essay, receive a school official’s endorsement and recommendation, and earn SAT or ACT scores that confirm their PSAT/NMSQT performance. Students who meet the requirements will be notified of Finalist standing in February.
Commended Students are among approximately 34,000 high scorers nationwide who receive Letters of Commendation recognizing outstanding academic promise. Although they do not continue in the National Merit Scholarship competition, some may qualify for Special Scholarships provided by corporate and business sponsors.
“Each of these students has interests, goals and talents that extend beyond a test score,” MHS Counselor Cindy Cates said. “It’s exciting to see their academic accomplishments recognized at the national level and to think about where they’ll go from here.”
This year’s recognition follows a successful scholarship cycle for Midway. All three of last year’s Semifinalists—Zoe Betancis, Lily Lu and Kennedy Williams—advanced to Finalist standing, and Williams received a National Merit Scholarship to the University of Houston.
Students typically enter the competition by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, or PSAT/NMSQT, during their junior year and meeting program eligibility requirements. A Selection Index calculated from their reading and writing and mathematics scores determines which entrants qualify for recognition. Approximately 50,000 of the highest-scoring participants nationwide receive honors through the program.
National Merit Scholarship recipients are selected from the Finalist group based on their abilities, skills and accomplishments. Available awards include National Merit $2,500 Scholarships and scholarships sponsored by corporations and colleges, with recipients publicly announced in the spring and summer.
The increase gives Midway nine more National Merit honorees than last year, with growth in both recognition categories. As the district celebrates all 19 students and graduates, its five Semifinalists will continue pursuing Finalist standing and scholarship opportunities.
“We look forward to helping these students tell their stories through their applications and explore the opportunities this recognition can open for them,” Cates added.
