Kirkwood High Seniors Shine Under National Spotlight

The following information was provided by the Kirkwood School District.

At the Kirkwood Board of Education meeting on Oct. 15, Mr. Mike Gavin, senior principal of Kirkwood High School, introduced the 12 Kirkwood High School seniors who achieved recognition in programs sponsored by the National Merit Scholarship Corp. (NMSC) to the Board of Education.

Kirkwood High School (KHS) seniors Gregory Fargo, Eleanor Heinrich, Daniel Plants and Michael Rath were named National Merit Semifinalists in the 2013 National Merit Scholarship Program.  They are among some 16,000 Semifinalists announced nationwide.  Students who qualify as Semifinalists based on their performance on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test are the only program participants who have an opportunity to advance to the Finalist level and compete for National Merit Scholarships.  National Merit Finalists will be announced in the spring.

Kirkwood High School (KHS) seniors Anne Fried, Alexandra Jones, Benard Neuhaus, Tucker Overmann, Michelle Staten, Valery Wehrman and John Wingert were named National Merit Commended Students in the 2013 National Merit Scholarship Program.  They are among some 34,000 Commended Students announced nationwide.  Commended Students placed among the top five percent of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2013 competition by taking the 2011 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

Kirkwood High School senior William Black was designated as a Semifinalist in the 49th annual National Achievement Scholarship Program.  He was amongst some 1,600 Black American high school seniors announced nationwide.

These scholastically talented young men and women now have an opportunity to continue in the competition for approximately 800 Achievement ScholarshipÒ awards worth more than $2.5 million that will be offered next spring.  To be considered for a National Achievement Scholarship, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition.  About 80 percent of Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and more than half of the Finalists will win an Achievement Scholarship award.