National Merit Semifinalists Announced
All of the National Merit Semifinalists stand together for a group picture.
Parents applaud as they honor the students hard work and achievement.
Osric Nagle ’18 takes a photo with Principal Mario Acosta.
Junu Lee ’18 proudly takes a photo is Principal Mario Acosta.
Area Superintendent of the Westwood Learning Community Ms. Becky Donald congratulates students on their success and gives them encouragement for the next step in their journeys.
Juno Lee ’18 waits in line to walk across the floor.
Noah Adcock ’18 smiles for photographs.
Jesse Park ’18 poses for the camera along with Principal Mario Acosta.
Ryan Xe ’18 walks across the floor after his name is called.
On Sept. 14, 63 students swarmed into the AUX gym at 8 a.m. to participate in the Academic Awards. The students themselves didn’t know what was going to happen, but were pleasantly surprised to find out the ceremony was for National Merit Semifinalists honoring the students’ academic ability and potential for college success.
The function began with the lead counselor, Ms. Holly Browning, greeting the students and the proud parents and teachers scattered in the audience. Ms. Browning informed the audience that out of the 16,000 students who made it to the semifinals, 63 of them were from Westwood. Additionally, more students at Westwood were National Merit Semifinalists than the entire state of Alaska.
“I was really happy when I got National Merit,” Kavyaa Choudhary ‘18 said. “I couldn’t believe the number of kids there this morning though, 63 is insane.”
Semifinalists are chosen based on the score’s on the Preliminary SAT, which was taken by about 1.6 million high school juniors.
“I felt really surprised and happy when they said I was a semifinalist,” Daniel Deng ’18 said.
The ceremony also included a photo-op with Principal Mario Acosta, a professional photo, as well as a variety of foods and drinks.
“The ceremony was really nice because our parents got to come and they gave us food,” Choudhary said. “It was really cool to be a part of a that group because we’ve all worked really hard and this was a fun way to celebrate.”
These students will have the opportunity to compete for approximately 7,500 National Merit Scholarships. However, to be considered for a Merit Scholarship, semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance. Around 90% of the semifinalists are expected to be named finalists, and will be notified in February if they are.
Here is a list of all the semifinalists from Westwood.
![In their full runway outfits, (from left) Audrey Lee 25, Olivia Lucy Teets, 25, Fashion Design teacher Ms. Judy Chance, and Xueying Lili Yang pose for a photo. All three girls made it to Austin Fashion Week by getting in the top 10 in a previous runway show held by Shop LC.
[I like my students] creativity and how they can look at a fabric and make it their own, Ms. Chance said.](https://westwoodhorizon.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_9686-e1714088765730-565x600.jpeg)
