18 Arlington High School Students Named National Merit Commended Scholars

The following is from the Arlington Public Schools.

The Arlington Public Schools announced today that 18 students at Arlington High School have been named National Merit Commended Scholars in the 2013 National Merit Scholarship Program, and three students have qualified as Semifinalists.

These young people are among approximately 1.5 million U.S. high school students who participated in the October 2011 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®).  Almost 34,000 students earn scores high enough to receive Letters of Commendation in recognition of their outstanding academic promise.  Another 16,000 are identified as the highest-scoring entrants in their state, qualifying them as Semifinalists.  These students are then able to advance in the competition for National Merit Scholarships to be offered in the spring of 2013.

"It is extremely gratifying to see our high school students recognized in this way," said Dr. Kathleen Bodie, Superintendent of Schools. "Commended Scholars and Semifinalists are those in the top 3% of all students taking the exam.  This is a tremendous achievement, and we are proud to extend our congratulations to them and their families."

Arlington High School students qualifying as Semifinalists are Robert N-L. Lin, Larsen D. Linov, Edith J. Voges.

National Merit Commended Scholars are Eva G. Czapski, Devynn N. Diggins, Claire Doyle, Leland B. Garrahan, Robert B. Harrelson, Anissa E. Ilaj, Anahis A. Kechejian, Akihiro Komatsu, Alice R. Lee, Lance S. Mahon, Margaret C. McCarthy, Matthew J. O’Rourke, Michael C. Packard, Sylvia M. Rosenberg, Charlotte L. Stobbe, William L. White, Sonia E. Zacher, Sarah A. Bowler.

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation is a non-profit organization that conducts annual competitions for recognition and college undergraduate scholarships.  Since its founding, 2.9 million students have been recognized, and over 360,000 scholarships have been awarded.