Sept. 24, 2020

25 seniors earn National Merit Commended status

Twenty-five Upper St. Clair High School seniors were recently recognized as Commended Students in the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program.

Benjamin P. Bacdayan; Atharva A. Barve; Gabriella J. Brubach; Anish Chigurupati; Antara O. Cleetus; Zhenru Fang; Taylor A. Finkelstein; Daniela S. Gibbons; Reshma Gudla; Eileen Guo; Alexander M. Happ; Bryce Keating; Benjamin C. Lang; Andrew S. Levy; Brianna M. Lin; Lucas W. Manalo; Rohan Mishra; Jack R. Myers; Madeline L. Nolen; Alyssa M. Robert; Ryan M. Sarkett; Shilp L. Shah; Grace A. Suter; Justin H. Yu; and Henry M. Zou scored in the top three percent of the more than 1.5 million students who completed the 2019 Preliminary SAT, the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test last October.

“We are so excited to celebrate the academic accomplishment of our 25 Commended students,” Dr. Timothy M. Wagner, Upper St. Clair High School principal, said. “Earning recognition from the National Merit Scholarship Program is no easy feat. We applaud them for their hard work and tenacity.”

These 25 Upper St. Clair seniors join about 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation who are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise.

“Those being named Commended Students have demonstrated outstanding potential for academic success,” commented a spokesperson for the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. “These students represent a valuable national resource; recognizing their accomplishments, as well as the key role their schools play in their academic development, is vital to the advancement of educational excellence in our nation. We hope that this recognition will help broaden their educational opportunities and encourage them as they continue their pursuit of academic success.”

Earlier this month the National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced the program’s Semifinalists, which included 11 Upper St. Clair seniors. In total, 36 Upper St. Clair students earned recognition as a Semifinalist or Commended Student in the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program.

For more information regarding the National Merit Scholarship Program, visit: www.nationalmerit.org.