National Merit

Four seniors at Jesuit High School have been named National Merit Semifinalists, Jesuit principal Barry Neuburger announced at a special Convocation ceremony this week.

Royal Doolittle, John Mace, Ben Miller, and Drew Valenti are among the approximately 16,000 Semifinalists nationwide in the prestigious National Merit Scholarship Program. Semifinalists are selected based on their PSAT scores, a standardized test administered nationwide their junior year.

The qualifying standard on the PSAT for Florida students to be Semifinalists rose from 214 last year to 217 this year. Over the past four years, Jesuit has had 19 Semifinalists.

A total of 20 Jesuit seniors, in addition to the four National Merit Semifinalists, tested in the top 1% nationally on the PSAT. They are: William Yount, Justin Virgadamo, Spencer Wallace, Mike Swenson, Brice Sewell, Ray Petrus, Nick Palmiero, Trayer Musselman, Blake Motzer, Matthew Mosiello, Sal Lumia, Hugh Hickman, Jack Hermes, Luke Hasara, Russell Groscurth, Cullen Finley, Ty Deming, Daniel Castillo, Gabriel Brown, and Brandon Bailey.       

The four Semifinalists will continue in the pursuit of some 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth about $33 million that will be offered next spring. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. About 90 percent of the Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and more than half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.
 

24 Jesuit seniors placed in the top 1% nationally in PSAT testing

               Principal Barry Neuburger (left) and president Fr. Richard C. Hermes, S.J. (right) with National Merit Semifinalists (L-R) Royal Doolittle, John Mace, Ben Miller, and Drew Valenti