Five National Merit Scholars join Shocker Nation
This fall, five scholars will enroll at WSU: Monelle Brink (Olathe, Kan., North High School), Hannah Cheatem (Wichita, Kan., North High School), Ruth Darsey (Albuquerque, New Mexico, Homeschool), Luke Hansen (Shawnee, Kan., Shawnee Mission Northwest High School), and David Thacker (Valley Center, Kan., Homeschool).
Of the five scholars, four will study engineering while Thacker will study entrepreneurship through the W. Frank Barton School of Business.
According to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, more than 1.4 million students in more than 22,000 high schools entered the 2015 program by taking the 2013 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). Sixteen thousand semifinalists are the highest-scoring entrants in each state and represent less than one percent of each state's high school seniors.
To become Finalists in the National Merit Scholarship Competition, the student has to show high academic success in college preparatory course work, submitted an SAT score that reflects the PSAT/NMSQT performance in 2013, and have been fully recommended by a high school official. Included in the application, each semifinalist wrote an essay to give examples of volunteer service, leadership positions, honors and employment.