By Amber Jurgensen | Associate Editor
Ten Plant City-area high school students beat out more than 1.5 million peers from throughout the country to qualify as semifinalists for the 2013 National Merit Scholarship.
Nationwide, 16,000 students qualified as semifinalists; 15,000 will be named finalists in February. Of those, about 8,000 will receive $2,500 scholarships.
The students were chosen based on the PSAT scores they earned during their junior year of high school.
“It’s a great honor, and it looks (good) to colleges,” semifinalist William Lamoreaux, of Plant City High School, said.
Lamoreaux loves math, philosophy and psychology and found the test easy.
“I’m good at tests,” Lamoreaux said. “That’s my main merit. There’s never been a test that’s beaten me.”
Lamoreaux, now a senior, hasn’t decided on a college or major yet but has a passion for learning.
“I want to be a ‘modern-day Renaissance man,’” Lamoreaux said.
Lamoreaux is involved with a variety of extracurricular activities. He is in the Future Business Leaders of America and JROTC. He also is part of the drama club and served as technical director for the Calendar Girls show. Recently, he completed his bartending license, and in the spring, he hopes to try out for baseball.
Rebecca Fate, from Strawberry Crest, said she worked hard before the test and practiced with an English teacher after school. English is Fate’s strongest subject, and she is thinking about becoming an English teacher in the future.
“It was very exciting to find out I had qualified,” Fate said.
Currently, Fate is filing applications for several colleges, including the University of Miami, the University of Florida, Yale University and Vanderbilt University.
Fate said any type of scholarship will help her achieve her dream of going to college.
“I definitely need as many scholarships as I can get,” Fate said. “That’s why I’m looking at in-state colleges. I know Bright Futures will help a lot with the cost of tuition.”
Fate balances academics with orchestra practice and Toys for Tots, a fundraiser she started at Strawberry Crest during her sophomore year.
This is the 58th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. The scholarship money is funded by about 1,000 corporations and businesses and about 200 colleges and universities.
To become a finalist, the students and their high school must submit a detailed scholarship application in which they provide information about the semifinalist’s academic record, demonstrated leadership abilities and honors and awards. More than 290,000 students in the passed have earned the National Merit Scholar title.
Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.
THE SEMIFINALISTS
Durant
Natalie Raschke
Plant City
Ellen Adams
William Lamoreaux
Strawberry Crest
Dana Beriswill
Evan Bishop
Kathleen Callahan
Darius D’Souza
Rebecca Fate
Jade Philipoom
Allison Stahr