SMITHFIELD – Smithfield-Selma High School Principal David K. Allen announced that Catherine Cepin, Priscilla Nutt and Sophia Urzi have been named Commended Students in the 2023 National Merit Scholarship Program. A Letter of Commendation from the school and National Merit Scholarship Corporation, which conducts the program, was presented by the principal to these scholastically talented seniors.
About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Although they will not continue in the 2023 competition for National Merit Scholarship awards, Commended Students place among the top 50,000 students who entered the 2023 competition by taking the 2021 Preliminary SAT/ NMSQT.
“Those being named Commended Students have demonstrated outstanding potential for academic success,” commented a spokesperson for the NMSC. “These students represent a valuable national resource; recognizing their accomplishments, as well as the key role their schools play in their academic development, is vital to the advancement of educational excellence in our nation. We hope that this recognition will help broaden their educational opportunities and encourage them as they continue their pursuit of academic success.”
SSS Senior Named National Merit Semi-Finalist
Smithfield-Selma High School Principal David K. Allen announced that Jude Reece has been named a Semifinalist in the 2023 National Merit Scholarship (NMS) Program. Jude is one of only 16,000 NMS Semifinalists nationwide. These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for 7,250 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $28 million offered in the spring. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, Semifinalists must write an essay and submit all academic records and a letter of recommendation to advance to the Finalist level of the competition.
Jude qualified for the National Merit Scholarship by earning the highest possible score on the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (NMSQT), which is the first step for 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.
Jude will continue in the competition and will find out if he is a finalist in mid-February. Scholarship winners will be notified between March and May 2023.
“We offer our congratulations to Jude as he continues to demonstrate the highest levels of academic success,” commented the SSS Administrative Team.
Well done!
I’d like to read said essays, assuming they’re publicly available.