In a school of more than 4,000 people, only three individuals can claim the prestigious title of being a National Merit Semi-Finalist. Through hard work and dedication, Summer Creek high school seniors Zach Houlton, Matthew Parks and Luke Stibrich have achieved this distinction.
To be a National Merit Semi-Finalist, students must score exceptionally well on a standardized test called the PSAT, a prerequisite test to the SAT. Most high school juniors take the PSAT across the United States. Both the SAT and PSAT drill students on their reading comprehension, grammar and mathematical abilities, all while being able to work under intense time constraints. To qualify, a student’s PSAT scores must be dauntingly high, in the top 1% of their respective state. If you meet that requirement and become a Semi-Finalist, many doors open. In addition to scholarship opportunities, students can apply to be a Finalist by submitting an application with an essay, current test scores, leadership and extracurricular activities they are involved in. If selected to become a National Merit Finalist, they are one step closer to reaching the ultimate goal – becoming a National Merit Scholar.
Houlton, Parks and Stibrich put in lots of work to receive this accolade. Houlton describes this achievement as “a result of studying hard.”
“A lot of preparation and dedication went into it,” comments Parks. However, the end result is worth the hassle. Houlton recalls his reaction upon finding out that he was a qualifier. “It felt great. It was great to be able to share the honor with my friends Matt and Luke.”
Parks feels the same way. “It’s a great honor being able to represent Summer Creek as a national Merit Semi-finalist,” he states. However, he is not the first in his family to earn this title.
“This is definitely something that I was striving to achieve. My brother was a semi-finalist, and he did not become a finalist. There’s always kind of been a competitive nature between us. He pushed me to succeed in the areas he never really was able to when he was in high school, because he wants me to be as good, if not better in school as he was.”
Stibrich is also hoping to be a National Merit Scholar. “I’m pretty honored to be represented, to represent the school in this way. I really hope I can get into the finalists, but I’m not going to stress super hard over it because I know a lot of it is up to chance… I’m going to go with the flow and see what happens,” Stibrich explains.
Meanwhile, his mother Kathleen Stibrich is “very excited and proud of him for qualifying for National Merit Semifinalist.”
“I had been talking about it for the last year about how he had a great chance of qualifying, so to hear that he actually made it was incredible,” she said
Summer Creek High School is extremely proud of Houlton, Parks and Stibrich. As National Merit Semi-Finalists, the sky’s the limit for the future, in college and beyond.
