The National Merit Scholarship Corporation has announced students named as National Merit Scholarship semifinalist, as well as National Merit Commended, National Achievement Semifinalist, and National Hispanic Scholars for the 2012 program.
Irving ISD seniors Natalie Bradford, MacArthur High School, and Allison Roderick, Joel Sam and Carly Taylor, Nimitz High School, have been named semifinalists in the 2012 National Merit Scholarship Program. These four seniors join approximately 16,000 semifinalists nationwide in the 57th year of the program. Semifinalists will compete for 8,300 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $34 million to be awarded during spring 2012. Ninety percent of semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing, with half of the finalists winning the title of National Merit Scholar.
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation has also announced eight Irving ISD students as Commended in the 2012 National Merit Scholarship program. Students are Alvaro Aleman, Irving High School; Alvin Nguyen, Irving High; Amanda Huerta, MacArthur; Caleb Vinson, MacArthur; Tambra Bonds, Nimitz; India Burton, Nimitz; Lauren Edgar, Nimitz; Luz Vega, Nimitz; and Gi Ju Lim, Singley Academy. Approximately 34,000 Commended students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. They placed among the top five percent of more than 1.4 million students who entered this year’s competition. Students were qualified according to their scores on the Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test taken during the junior year of high school.
India Burton from Nimitz was named Semifinalist in the National Achievement Scholarship Program. For 47 years the National Achievement Scholarship Program has recognized the academic achievement of African-American high school students. The Burton joins approximately 1,600 semifinalists regionally-selected from more than 160,000 high school juniors who took the Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). To advance to finalist level, semifinalists must present a record of high academic performance during high school, write an essay and submit an application, be endorsed and recommended by their high school principal, and earn SAT scores that confirm the PSAT/NMSQT performance. Approximately 1,300 semifinalists are expected to advance to finalist level to compete for approximately 800 national scholarships offered in spring 2011. MacArthur Senior Deaven R. Bean and Nimitz Senior Trey Masters were named Outstanding Participants in the program.
Eleven Irving ISD seniors have been named National Hispanic Scholar for their outstanding performance on the Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test (PSAT) among minority students. Seniors named National Hispanic Scholar are Alvaro Aleman, Irving High; Saul Membrano, Irving High; Beatriz Ramos, Irving High; Amanda Huerta, MacArthur; Alyssa LaPuma, MacArthur; Louis Quinones, MacArthur; Mayra Rojas, MacArthur; Marcus Alvarez, Nimitz; Jesse Atkinson, Nimitz; Luz Vega, Nimitz; and Yarelhdi Jaimes, Singley Academy. The National Hispanic Recognition Program identifies nearly 5,000 outstanding Hispanic/Latino students each year.
