by Riley Wootten, Reporter

FAIRHOPE, Ala.- The National Merit Scholarship Program selected Lena Amare, Gavin Laxton, Addison Spears and Noah Sugg among 16,000 semifinalists across the country to advance as finalists. 

“Having four finalists from our school is awesome and serves as a testament to the teachers and the students and their ability to accomplish something so wonderful,” said Cammie Adams, junior counselor. 

Only finalists can be selected as Merit Scholarship winners; only half win the Merit Scholarship Award. The scholarship is granted to students based on their skills, abilities and accomplishments. 

“In order to compete as a finalist you first take the PSAT and write an essay and based on results are selected as a semifinalist to advance,” Spears said.

The work ethic put into applying for the scholarship takes preparation and is important to prepare to achieve a high score on the PSAT. 

“To prepare for the test I used the Strategies and Practice for the PSAT/NMSQT, Barron’s Test Prep book. I just did a ton of practice problems and I think that that helped me the most,” Amare said.

The National Merit Scholarship Program offers multiple scholarships including the National Merit 2,500 scholarships, Corporate-Sponsored scholarships and College-Sponsored scholarships. These can be awarded to finalists if they meet the criteria for a certain scholarship. 

“Four student finalists is a very high number for any high school, but I am not surprised we have a lot of hardworking, dedicated students who put everything into all they do and I could not be prouder,” said Assistant Principal John Helms.

The hard work of these students is recognized through their determination and skills. This achievement is honorable and a huge accomplishment for the students and the school.