Mount Vernon Student Named National Merit Semifinalist

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Haley Todd, a senior at Mount Vernon Presbyterian School, has been named a Semifinalist in the the National Merit Scholarship Program.

Another Mount Vernon student -- senior Chandler Grove -- also qualified as a National Merit Commended Student.

To qualify for the recognition, Haley earned one of the highest scores in the state on the PSAT, a score of 218. To become a National Merit Finalist, Haley will submit a detailed scholarship application providing her academic record, school and community activities, leadership abilities, and honors and awards received.

As Mount Vernon’s National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist, Haley is involved in numerous opportunities at school and in the community.

At MVPS, as Spiritual Life Prefect she plans each of the Upper School’s chapels and oversees spiritual organizations such as Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Younglife. As president of the Creative Writing Club, she led a letter-writing initiative for healthcare workers in impoverished nations. Last year she earned the English Award and the Vanderbilt University Book Award and has earned straight As each year in high school.

Outside of school, Haley volunteers frequently with Families of Children Under Stress (FOCUS), where she works with children who have with special needs. Helping children of all ages and with a range of abilities, she has worked at day camps and respites.

As a writer, Disney Hyperion and Random House Publishing have published Haley’s book reviews in addition to anecdotes. Recently, she became the social media/transmedia assistant for “Northbound Web Series,” a modern-day YouTube adaptation of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey.

Being an advocate for So Worth Loving and More Love Letters are some of her favorite activities. So Worth Loving is a fashion organization which promotes self-worth and self-love; Haley advocates for them by wearing their clothing, attending events, spreading their message to her friends, and posting about them on social media.

More Love Letters is an organization in which people can request letters for loved ones who are going through a hard time; letter writers such as myself then write to those requests, and the person who is struggling receives a bundle of letters of encouragement.

About 1.5 million juniors in more than 22,000 high schools entered the 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2014 Preliminary sat/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (psat/nmsqt®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants.

A s\emifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn sat® scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test.

From the approximately 16,000 Semifinalists, about 15,000 are expected to advance to the Finalist level, and in February they will be notified of this designation.

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Photo: Chandler Grove, left, and Haley Todd. Credit: Mount Vernon Presbyterian School