Six Hatboro-Horsham Students Named National Merit Semifinalists

Hatboro-Horsham High School (HHHS) is proud to recognize six seniors as National Merit Semifinalists: Justin Buonato, Audrey Kim, Jacob Schwartz, Ella Warden, Jonathan Weinstein and Lillian Wu.

To become National Merit Semifinalists, these students scored the highest in the state on their Preliminary SAT/National Merit Semifinal Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®) and represent less than one percent of high school seniors nationwide. A Semifinalist must also have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be recommended by a high school official, write an essay and earn SAT® or ACT® scores that confirm the student’s performance on the qualifying test.

“We are extremely excited for our six National Merit Semifinalists and their families,” said Principal Dennis Williams. “These students are dedicated academically, which is obvious through this recognition. However, what is most impressive is their involvement outside of the classroom, desire to engage in the school community, and participation in community service and student interest clubs and activities.”

Finalists will be selected in February and National Merit Scholars are named in the spring.

Justin Buonato

After doing well on the PSAT his sophomore year, Justin Buonato made it a goal of his to improve his skills for his junior year.

“I was excited after seeing my index score would be competitive for Pennsylvania when scores first came out,” he said.

Thanks to the advanced math courses offered in the District, Buonato was able to take algebra and geometry at Keith Valley Middle School. This allowed him to practice the skills from these classes for years before using them on the PSAT.

“OneNote now makes it effortless to stay organized with my notes from previous math classes, so I can go back and check them at any time,” said Buonato. “I appreciate how accessible this made old notes from lessons relevant to the PSAT.

For the PSAT’s writing section, Buonato credits using different writing conventions and practicing them in essays, and improving with teacher feedback.

At HHHS, he is involved in football, robotics, concert band, National Honor Society and Interact Club. His favorite activity is track, where he is involved in both winter and spring seasons.

“In shot put, my personal best is currently only two-feet off the qualifying standard for the indoor season state championships,” he said.

Additionally for football, Buonato starts on the offensive and defensive lines, and was one of the three captains in the season’s first game.

Buonato plans to attend college for electrical engineering.

Audrey Kim

Audrey Kim didn’t have the PSATs on her mind when she found out she was a National Merit Semifinalist.

“When guidance called and told me, it was very gratifying,” said Kim. “I was excited to tell my family, and it made me smile for the rest of the day. It was nice knowing that my hard work had paid off.”

At HHHS, she is the co-president of Theater Club, co-founder of the pen-pal program “Sincerely, Me”, president of National Honor Society, secretary of Advisory Board, and board member of Tri-M. Kim participates in the school musicals, Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA), Thespians, Mock Trial and “The Hat Chat” school newspaper. She also plays piano in jazz band, plays the flute in band and sings in select choir.

“I plan on going to college, and as of now, I am tentatively considering biology,” said Kim. “Still, I have a wide variety of interests and plan on using a liberal arts education to my advantage.”

Jacob Schwartz

Jacob Schwartz felt proud and ecstatic to be one of the top scorers on the PSAT.

“This means all my years of working hard in school is paying off,” said Schwartz. “I am thankful for the amazing teachers and breadth of classes offered in the Hatboro-Horsham School District. Together, they provided the foundation to learn and achieve at a very high level.”

At HHHS, Schwartz is the co-captain of the Hatters Robotics Team. He also created and leads HatterSTEM. He runs varsity cross country and participates in track. In addition, he is a member of the National Honor Society, Math Club, Key Club and Ski Club. After graduation, Schwartz plans to attend college for engineering.

“I want to be able to design solutions to humanity’s problems,” he said.

Ella Warden

Ella Warden was excited to find out she was one of the National Merit Semifinalists this year.

“It means a lot to me. I feel honored to be recognized on the national level,” said Warden. “I have had some great teachers that I am very grateful for that have helped me along the way.”

She rows on the varsity race team at Whitemarsh Boat Club in Conshohocken. At HHHS, Warden is president of Interact Club, Helping Little Hands, and Girls Who Start; copy editor of “The Hat Chat” school newspaper; treasurer of Key Club and an officer of Future Business Leaders of America. She plays first violin in the Chamber Orchestra and is a member of the National Honor Society. Additionally, she danced on the Red Dance Team and played singles on the varsity tennis team.

For her future, Warden plans to major in computer science and economics in college, and row for a Division 1 team.

Jonathan Weinstein

Jonathan Weinstein is grateful and excited that his hard work studying for the SAT and PSAT paid off, earning him Semifinalist recognition.

“Hatboro-Horsham has provided me with the opportunity to challenge myself in a wide selection of rigorous courses,” he said. “These courses have helped me to improve my studying and test-taking skills, which then helped me to perform better on the PSAT.”

Weinstein is a co-captain of the Hatters Robotics Team, a member of Math Club and Key Club, runs on the cross country team and is also a National Honor Society officer. He plans to major in either biology or chemistry in college and then continue his education to pursue either a PhD or MD.

“I just want to say thanks to my many excellent teachers who have helped me to learn so much during my time at Hatboro-Horsham,” said Weinstein.

Lillian Wu

Lillian Wu said her preparation from studying for the SAT carried over for the PSAT.

“I think my English and history classes, especially World History, helped me with reading comprehension and getting a lot out of a passage in little time,” said Wu.

At HHHS, she’s the first singles and co-captain of the girls varsity tennis team, editor-in-chief of “The Hat Chat” school newspaper and co-founder of the pen-pal program “Sincerely, Me.” Wu also participates in Mock Trial and Interact Club, and is a member of National Honor Society and National Junior Honor Society.

After graduation, Wu plans to attend college and discover her passion.

“I’m interested in international relations and humanities subjects, but I want to keep an open mind and explore my options. There’s so much I don’t know and I’m eager to learn more,” she said.