Four seniors at Westport’s Staples High School have advanced to finalist standing in the 2008 National Merit Scholarship Program, Principal John Dodig announced today.
The Westport Public Schools sent this picture of the four Staples National Merit scholarship finalists—Brandon Davis, Jesse Hubbard, Geoff Jordan and Zachary Weiner—but did not provide the left to right individual identities, explaining in an e-mail “It is the policy of the Westport Public Schools to not print the names of students with their photos on the Internet.” (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo
Dodig presented the students with a certificate of merit from the school and the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), which conducts the program.
As merit scholar finalists, Brandon Davis, Jesse Hubbard, Geoff Jordan and Zachary Weiner have a chance at one of 8,200 merit scholarship awards worth $34 million, Dodig said.
Final scholarship winners, chosen from a group of more than 15,000 finalists, may be notified by NMSC between April and June.
Merit scholar designees are selected on the basis of their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies, without regard to gender, race, ethnic origin, or religious preference, Dodig said.
To become a finalist, a semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by the school principal, and earn SAT scores that confirm the student’s earlier qualifying test performance.
The semifinalist and a school official must submit a detailed scholarship application, which includes the student’s self-descriptive essay and information about the semifinalist’s participation and leadership in school and community activities, Dodig said.
