CANTON — Interim Superintendent Derek Folan and Principal Jeff Sperling are pleased to announce that four Canton High School seniors have been recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Program as Semifinalists.
The National Merit Scholarship Program is an academic competition that recognizes students for their outstanding performance on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). In September, students were notified that they qualified as a Semifinalist.
“We are thrilled to see four of our students at Canton High School recognized nationally as National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists,” Principal Sperling said. “Not only are they each hard working students, but they are outstanding members of our school community who are dedicated to student groups, athletic teams and serving the Canton community. Congratulations to Warda, Suraj, Hannah and Alison on this achievement.”
The National Merit Scholarship Program recognized four Canton seniors as Semifinalists:
Warda Ahmed
Ahmed is involved in community service and is the co-president of the high school’s Community Service Club. She is a proud alum of Project 351, a community service-centered nonprofit. She has particular interest in organizing and participating in clothing and food drives to benefit the community.
In addition to community service, she is a strong student with science and math being her favorite subjects. She is the captain of the high school’s Science Team and an officer of the Math National Honor Society chapter. Ahmed plans to attend college next fall on a pre-med track and has set the goal of becoming a physician upon completing her formal education.
Suraj Ramanathan
Ramanathan was born in India and moved to Canton just before he entered fourth grade. He is currently pursuing acceptance to a four-year college and while he is undecided on his course of study, he has aspirations to obtain a Ph.D. He enjoys playing chess and tennis and is the captain of the high school’s boys’ tennis team. He also enjoys traveling and spending time with his friends and family.
Hannah Wang
Wang is the co-president of the high school’s Asian Culture Club and is a member of the Math Team, French Club, Math and French National Honor Societies, and the Quiz Bowl team. Wang is also working to start a DECA chapter at Canton High School.
Outside of school Wang plays piano and is involved in Chinese dance and ballet. She also works at Starbucks and does some modeling work. She has an interest in being a small business owner in the future.
Alison Ye
Ye is passionate about academics and is co-captain of the Quiz Bowl team. She is especially interested in math and science and is a member of the CHS Math Team and Science National Honor Society. Ye also enjoys working within the CHS community and advancing the student voice as editor-in-chief of the high school’s newspaper SPECTRUM News and co-president of the Human Rights Club. Ye plans to attend college in the fall of 2022 to study computer science.
There are approximately 16,000 semifinalists in the 67th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. These seniors will now have the opportunity to potentially be awarded one of the approximately 7,500 scholarships worth nearly $30 million, which will be offered in the spring. Semifinalists must complete several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. Approximately 95% of students are expected to attain Finalist standings, with about half of the Finalists expected to win a National Merit Scholarship and earn the Merit Scholar title.
Additional information about the program and available scholarships can be found here.
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