Four Pentucket Regional High School Seniors Named Commended Students for the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program

For immediate release

WEST NEWBURY — Superintendent Justin Bartholomew and Principal Jonathan Seymour are pleased to announce the four Pentucket Regional High School seniors have been named Commended Students for the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program.

The four students to receive the recognition are:

• Nathan Blanchard of Merrimac
• Mitchell Powers of Haverhill
• Megan Reading of West Newbury
• Casey Pedersen of West Newbury

Letters of commendation from the school and National Merit Scholarship Corporation were presented to the students earlier this week.

“Congratulations to Nathan, Mitchell, Megan and Casey for these incredible honors,” Principal Seymour said. “They’ve demonstrated an exemplary commitment to their learning and these recognitions are a great, tangible example of that dedication.”

Approximately 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation have been recognized this year. Though the four will not continue in the 2021 competition for National Merit Scholarship awards, the Commended Students placed among the top 50,000 scorers of the more than 1.5 million students who took the 2019 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).

“I am beyond proud of the well-earned recognition our students have received,” Superintendent Bartholomew said. “They’ve worked incredibly hard over the course of their academic careers to set themselves up for success and have achieved that goal without a doubt.”

Additionally, Blanchard, Powers and Reading were selected for the College Board National Rural and Small Town Recognition Program based on their scores. The program, which is separate from the National Merit Scholarship program, recognizes students from underrepresented groups who have excelled on their PSAT/NMSQT and in the classroom.

Students received letters of commendation from the College Board as well.

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