Four St. John's alum named National Merit semifinalists

Four St. John’s alumni are among 16,000 high school seniors nationwide competing in the 2020 National Merit Scholarship program. Those alumni are: Katharine E. Kemp (Robinson High); Erin R. Moffitt (Plant High); William W. Parkinson (Berkeley Prep); and John F. Weachter (Robinson High).

The Eagles graduates, along with 1.5 million high school seniors nationwide, took the Preliminary SAT as juniors. As National Merit semifinalists, they scored among the highest in their state(s) and represent less than one percent of high school seniors in the U.S.

The factors considered for National Merit selection are academic records, school/community participation, leadership abilities, employment, honors and awards, and SAT scores. Finally, students must be recommended by a high school official and submit an essay to be considered. More than 90 percent of the Semifinalists will attain Finalist standing, and more than half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.

We wish our alumni luck as these four seniors continue in their pursuit of 7,600 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $31 million dollars, offered next spring.