mission matters
Academic Recognition on a National Level
Gabrielle Danzeisen
Albert Morgese
As a college preparatory high school, Justin-Siena takes great pride in its rigorous academic program, which delivers cuttingedge curriculum to students. Ten Justin-Siena students have earned prestigious recognition for their academic achievement at a national level. About 1.5 million juniors in more than 22,000 high schools entered the 2014 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2012 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest scoring entrants in each state. The number of Semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors. Seniors Gabrielle Danzeisen, Albert Morgese, and Amelia Hardy, were selected from an applicant pool of 1.5 million as semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), as announced in late September. These young scholars represent three of the 16,000 semifinalists in the 59th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. They will continue in the competition for 8,000 National Merit Scholarships worth about $35 million that will be announced next spring. Principal Noel Hesser is proud of these students’ academic achievement. “This year our academic program is focusing on the new 3Rs of learning – rigor, relevance, and relationship, and I can’t think of three students who embrace this more. We are a college prep school dedicated to preparing students for college and career, and it is so satisfying to see what these students are engaged in both in and out of the classroom. They are well poised
Amelia Hardy
Bianca Llamas
for long term success.” In addition, the following seniors have earned the Commended Student honors of the National Merit Scholarship Program (one level below semi-finalists): Andrew Collins, Megan Gafvert, Jacob Guorgui, Helena Herber, John (Henry) Mattei, and Lia Mondavi. Commended students placed among the top five percent of the applicant pool of 1.5 million. “The young men and women being named Commended Students have demonstrated outstanding potential for academic success,” commented a spokesperson for NMSC. “These students represent a valuable national resource; recognizing their accomplishments, as well as the key role their school plays in their academic development, is vital to the advancement of the educational excellence in our nation.” Finally, senior Bianca Llamas has been selected as a 2013-14 National Hispanic Recognition Program (NHRP) Scholar. This year NHRP is recognizing 5,300 Hispanic/Latino students from a pool of over 259,000 who took the 2012 PSAT/NMSQT. About 90 percent of the Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and more than 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. You can read more about our finalists at: www.justin-siena.org/news
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