National Merit Finalists Announced

Saint Viator High School learned Monday that both students, Olivia Gauthier and Kathleen Hannon, who were recognized as Semifinalists in the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program, have now been named Finalists. 

 

Back in September, the two were named National Merit semifinalists, but advancing to the final round required, even more, rigor. Students had to submit a record of their high academic performance, as well as SAT scores that confirmed their PSAT scores from sophomore year.

 

They also had to complete a detailed scholarship application, with an essay and expanded information about activities, volunteer service, leadership positions, awards, and employment.

 

Finally, a school official had to write a recommendation about the character of these finalists.

 

In all, Saint Viator had 12 seniors recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Program, including these ten commended scholars: Jayne Bottarini, Connor Flynn, Matthew Johnson, Austin Jones, Nathan Kochera, Joseph Laterza, Abigail Longstreet, John Lynch, Keely McClellan, and Mathew Oleksyk.

 

Officials with the National Merit Scholarship Program said that the finalist pool represents the highest-scoring entrants in each state or less than one percent of high school seniors.