34 • Thursday, October 16, 2014
schools
Vestavia Hills High School had more semifinalists than other school in Alabama. From, from left: Katherine Stahl, Kathryn Jason, Amy Weng, Deborah Helen Van Camp, Graziella Camata, Philip Wang, Kai He, Charles Li and Luke Hogewood. Back: Lynn Han, Tailin Pan, Thomas Archibald, Jason Hsu, Jin Lu, Ankit Bansal, Mark Philpot, Collin McMahon and Samuel Tindall. Amelia Haston and Caroline Sandoval are not pictured. Photos special to the Journal
OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal
The National Merit Scholar Semifinalist from Hoover High School are, front, from left: Rebecca Townsend, Alliemarie Schapp, Beryl VanNess, Danae Argyropoulou and Cindy Bond, college and career specialist. Back: Counselor Zach Butler, Richard Chow, Marshall Strickland, Tyler Compher, Jeremy Chow and Robert Danny Johns. Savannah Stanley and Korie Leflore are not pictured. Homewood High School’s 2015 National Merit Scholar Semifinalists are, from left: Daniel Spieler, Laine Smith, Houston Wingo, Katie Gardner and Maggie Gauntt.
Mountain Brook High School’s National Merit Scholar Semifinalists are, from left: Madeline Mitchell, Ellie Naff, Lindsey Kirk, Casey Fan, Claire Davis, Lewis Fitzpatrick, Richard Rice, Thatcher Rickertsen and Cole Messina.
Making the Grade
OTM Students Are National Merit Scholar Semifinalists By Mary Varnell Journal intern
O
ver the Mountain Schools had 108 students named 2015 National Merit Scholar Semifinalists, making them among the less than 1 percent of all U.S. high school students to receive the honor. National Merit Scholars are determined by students’ test scores on the Preliminary SAT. Students usually take the test during their junior years of high school. The Over the Mountain students are among a nationwide pool of about 16,000 semifinalists. They represent the highest-scoring students in the state and now have a chance to compete for some 7,600 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $33 million, offered in spring 2015. National Merit Semifinalists were chosen among 1.4 million juniors in 22,000 high schools across the country. National Merit Finalists will be selected based on their skills, accomplishments and potential success in competitive college studies. The National Merit Scholarship Corp., started in 1955, seeks to “honor the nation’s scholastic champions and encourage the pursuit of academic excellence,” according to a release by the nonprofit organization. Vestavia Hills High School had more semifinalists than any other school in Alabama. “We would like to congratulate our National Merit Semifinalists for their high academic achievements,” said Tim Loveless, Vestavia Hills High School interim principal. “We also want to thank our teachers who help them with the study process to get to this point. These students and teachers have represented Vestavia Hills High School as a place of academic excellence.” Over the Mountain students who are semifinalists include: Alabama School of Fine Arts: Nath Tumlin and Victor Sui. Altamont High School: Alexander Damman, Alden Dowdy, Olivia Jones, Graham Rutledge and Nathan
Sorscher. Briarwood Christian School: Jacob Lamb and Nikki Sullivan . Homewood High School: Daniel Spieler, Laine Smith, Houston Wingo, Katie Gardner and Maggie Gauntt. Hoover High School: Rebecca Townsend, Alliemarie Schapp, Beryl VanNess, Danae Argyropoulou, Richard Chow, Marshall Strickland, Tyler Compher, Jeremy Chow, Robert Danny Johns, Savannah Stanley and Korie Leflore. Indian Springs School: Sebastian Black, Eli Cohen, Ashley Leader, Tristan Trechsel, Anna Welden and Ethan White. Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School: Jagger Alexander. Mountain Brook High School: Claire Davis, Casey Fan, Lewis Fitzpatrick, Lindsey Kirk, Cole Messina, Madeline Mitchell, Eleanor Naff, Richard Rice and Thatcher Rickertsen. Oak Mountain High School: Andrew WintersDavis, Nathan Ledbetter, Nathan Holt, Sujin Powers and Alexander Candelaria-Eouse. Spain Park School: Tanya Devani, Veena Krishnan and Sebastian Schormann. Vestavia Hills High School: Thomas Archibald, Ankit Bansal, Graziella Camata, Lynn Han, Amelia Haston, Kai He, Luke Hogewood, Jason Hsu, Kathryn Jason, Charles Li, Jin Lu, Collin McMahon, Tailin Pan, Mark Philpot, Caroline Sandoval, Katherine Stahl, Samuel Tindall, Deborah Van Camp, Philip Wang and Amy Weng. Westminster School at Oak Mountain: Jack Stein, Thomas Williams, Ethan Shaw and Joey Gissendaner. About 15,000 semifinalists are expected to advance to the finalist level in February, and more than half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the title of National Merit Scholar, on the basis of their skills, accomplishments and potential for success in rigorous college studies. More than 308,000 high school students have been named National Merit Scholars since the program was established. ❖
Indian Springs School’s 2015 National Merit Scholar Semifinalists are, from left: Sebastian Black, Anna Welden, Eli Cohen, Ashley Leader, Ethan White and Tristan Trechsel. The National Merit Scholar Semifinalists from Spain Park High School are, from left: Veena Krishnan, Sebastian Schormann and Tanya Devani.
The National Merit Scholar Semifinalists from Altamont School are, from left: Alexander Damman, Alden Dowdy, Olivia Jones, Graham Rutledge and Nathan Sorscher.
Jacob Lamb and Nikki Sullivan are the 2015 National Merit Scholar Semifinalists from Briarwood Christian School.