From the South Orange & Maplewood School District:
The South Orange and Maplewood School District is pleased to announce that ten Columbia High School students have been selected as finalists in the annual National Merit Scholarship Program.
Photo Credit: Ms. Butler, Class of 2022 Assistant Principal, Mr. Sanchez, CHS Principal, Ms. Balassone, Director of Counseling, Dr. Taylor, Superintendent, with some of the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Corporation Finalists and Commended Students.
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) honors students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies. Finalists will compete for one of 2,500 National Merit $2,500 Scholarships, as well as other merit scholarship opportunities which will be announced in late spring. Among the academically talented high school seniors named as finalists were ten students from Columbia High School:
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Ella Rose J. Cervi
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Aidan P. Cunningham
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Dylan K. Gill
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Aaaron K. Glassman
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Sydney C. Mannion
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Jadyn Park
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Courtney Bailie Plaza
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Calliope Maria Reeves
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Cole J. Strupp
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Imaan K. Zubieta
Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Ronald G. Taylor shared, “As a District, we proudly recognize the ten members of the CHS senior class who were named National Merit Finalists for the 2021-2022 school year. We are very proud of them for receiving this prestigious academic recognition.”
To enter the 2022 program, 1.6 million juniors took the 2020 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). The national pool of 16,000 semifinalists included the highest-scoring entrants in each state. To become a finalist, a semifinalist must have had an outstanding academic record throughout high school, earned SAT scores that confirmed the earlier performance on the qualifying test, and demonstrated leadership and participation in school and community activities.
“I am proud of every student who earned the distinction of National Merit finalist this year,” CHS Principal, Frank Sanchez, said. “This year, all ten students who made it to the semi-finalists round (seven more than last year) also moved into the finalists round. This strong result is proof that academic standards in CHS remain high no matter what challenges the pandemic brings. Our students are truly exceptional.”
There will be three types of Merit Scholarships offered in spring 2022: 2,500 National Merit $2,500 scholarships; 1,000 corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarships from 220 corporations and business organizations (some for employees’ children or kids in their geographical area), and 4,000 scholarships sponsored by 180 colleges for students who attend their institution.
