Long Beach Student Named Finalist for National Merit Scholarship

Long Beach, CA, February 21, 2020: Officials announced the names of finalists for the prestigious National Merit Scholarships worth more than $31 million total. More than 1.5 million high school students entered the 65th annual National Merit Scholarship Program in the fall, but less than 1% make it to the final round. Isaac D. Seydel was the only student named among the eighteen charter, district, and independent high schools located in the City of Long Beach.

“Isaac models deep critical engagement, open-mindedness, and leadership in every aspect of our school,” stated Summer Sanders, Head of School for the Intellectual Virtues Academy (IVA) high school. “He is an exceptionally self-aware and meta-cognitive thinker. He astonishes our teachers, challenges the thinking of others, yet is always open to new ideas.”

Officials announced Semi-Finalists in the fall 2019. Semi-Finalists were required to submit an essay, submit recommendations, take the SAT, turn in high school grade transcripts, among several other requirements for finalist consideration. About half of the 15,000 Finalists will earn a National Merit Scholarship, and the Merit Scholar title, according to officials. Winners will be publicly announced starting in April.

“It is a great honor to be named a finalist,” Isaac Seydel said. “Thinking about how I got here, IVA’s focus on habits of mind and reflection, among other values have fostered a love of learning that allows me to analyze carefully, write thoroughly, and adapt to unforeseen situations. In a world that is constantly changing, these abilities are necessary for sustainable success.”

Isaac was accepted and plans to attend his first university of choice, Reed College, a small liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. Isaac stated he chose Reed because, like IVA, it emphasizes learning for its own sake.

IVA is based on an “intellectual virtues educational model,” which combines rigorous engagement of academic subjects with an emphasis on cultivating intellectual character virtues like curiosity, intellectual courage, humility, open-mindedness, and intellectual tenacity. It was celebrated in the recent New York Times top 10 bestseller, The Coddling of the American Mind for fostering “stronger, wiser” students “who will thrive” in a culture that increasingly coddles young minds. The high school is a non-profit, public, charter high school authorized by Los Angeles County Office of Education in 2016. Its affiliated middle school – which Isaac also attended -- opened in 2013-14 and is authorized by the Long Beach Unified School District. Together they serve 360 sixth through twelfth graders in Long Beach and are still accepting applications. Visit www.academylongbeach.org for more information.