Congratulations to Michelle Lee ’18, National Merit Scholarship Program semi-finalist, and to Gerasimos Copoulos ’18, Bridget Lapham ’18, Thomas McKenna ’18, and Faith O’Connor ’18 on their commendation from the National Merit Scholarship Program.
Michelle is one of about 16,000 semifinalists in the 63rd annual National Merit Scholarship Program and has the opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $32 million that will be offered next spring. About 90% of Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing.

L to R: Faith O’Connor, Bridget Lapham, Gerasimos Copoulos, Thomas McKenna
A letter of Commendation from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation has been awarded to Faith O’Connor, Bridget Lapham, Gerasimos Copoulos, and Thomas McKenna. About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Commended Students placed among the top 50,000 scorers of more than 1.6 million students who entered the 2018 competition by taking the 2016 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).
“The young men and women being named Commended Students have demonstrated outstanding potential for academic success,” commented a spokesperson for NMSC. “These students represent a valuable national resource; recognizing their accomplishments, as well as the key role their schools play in their academic development, is vital to the advancements of educational excellence in our nation. We hope that this recognition will help broaden their educational opportunities and encourage them as they continue their pursuit of academic success. ”
NMSC, a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance, was established in 1955 specifically to conduct the annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Scholarships are underwritten by NMSC with its own funds and by approximately 420 business organizations and higher education institutions that share NMSC’s goals of honoring the nation’s scholastic champions and encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence.