Five Kennett students have been chosen to advance to the next round of the NMSC scholarship competition
By P.J. D’Annunzio, Staff Writer, KennettTimes.com
National Merit Finalists, left to right: Diaz-Carandang, Coughlan, Hanson, and Bruhn.
KENNETT SQUARE — The Kennett Consolidated School District has announced that Kennett High School seniors Leslie Simone Diaz-Carandang, Christopher B. Coughlan, Emily A. Hanson, and Matthew Everett Bruhn have been named National Merit Finalists by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.
Additionally, Melissa K. Cassel, a member of Kennett High School’s Class of 2011, currently a student at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, has also been named a National Merit Finalist.
More than 1.5 million students entered the 2012 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which served as an initial screening of program entrants. The 2012 National Merit Finalists represent less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors and are the highest scoring entrants in the country.
These students will now compete for one of 2,500 Merit Scholarships which will be awarded on a state representational basis. In addition, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation estimates that approximately 200 colleges and universities are expected to finance some 4,900 college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards for finalists who will attend the sponsor institution.
Established in 1995, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation works to identify academically talented high school students in the United States, and honor their achievements by means of the effective financing of those students’ higher education.
Since its inception, NMSC has recognized 2.9 million students and provided over 360,000 scholarships worth more than $1.4 billion.
NMSC states that “exceptionally able students are viewed as definitive marks of excellence and recipients of Merit Scholarship awards, Achievement Scholarship awards, and corporate-sponsored Special Scholarships have increased the nation’s respect for intellectual accomplishments and have contributed significantly to its talent pool of future leaders.”
Despite the diminishing funding for Pennsylvania’s schools, these students have shown that hard work and determination in academic study can still produce results in even the most difficult of circumstances.
Diaz-Carandang, Coughlan, Hanson, Bruhn, and Cassel are among 1,300 finalists currently vying for single payment scholarships, which are awarded in this region. A total of 700 National Achievement $2500 Scholarships will be awarded.
