Amanda Graham, a senior at North High School, has been named a National Merit Finalist and joins 15,000 students across the nation in the running for National Merit Scholarship awards. Approximately half of the finalists nationwide will be selected as Merit Scholarship winners, based on their skills, accomplishments and potential for success in college.
In addition to being named a National Merit Finalist, Graham also was selected as a Courier and Press Star Student in 2013. She currently serves as captain of the English, Interdisciplinary and Fine Arts academic super bowl teams and is involved with teen court and other community organizations. After high school, Graham is looking at studying foreign languages, social work or history
The National Merit Scholarship program is an academic competition for recognition and scholarships. The process begins in the students’ junior year when they take the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. The nationwide pool of semifinalists, which represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest scoring entrants in each state. Then, those students submit information, including letters of recommendation, grades, class enrollment, etc. to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation in order to become a finalist.
