Four Carondelet students were named commended students in the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program, Principal Kevin Cushing announced Friday.
Grace Baer, Elizabeth Chung, Brooke Kocher, and Lily Madrigal, all of whom are seniors, were named Commended Students. The title is granted by the National Merit Scholarship Program and recognizes students with exceptional academic promise demonstrated by their outstanding performance on the qualifying test used for program entry.
“Of course we’re proud of all of our students,” Kevin Cushing said, “but this special recognition is a real testament to the hard work and the diligence that these seniors have put in throughout their time at Carondelet. This is fantastic recognition for the work they’ve done and we know they have much to contribute to their communities and our world in their years ahead.”
Grace Baer ’21: My favorite thing about academics at Carondelet is the flexibility and innovation. We try so many new things as a school and I really appreciate that, since we are given so many new ways to learn. My favorite classes are always social studies. I love history so much, since I find it fascinating and I love learning about it. I would like to go to Law School, and become a public defender. I hope to combine my love of Law with my love of Social Justice.”
Elizabeth Chung ’21: “I am not 100% sure what I want to major in during college, but I am leaning towards a major in the STEM field. Beyond college, I know that I want a career that entails lifelong learning.”
Lily Madrigal ’21: “I love the collaborative learning environment here and how my teachers are always willing to answer my questions. My favorite subject is math because I love solving complicated problems and I plan to major in computer science.”
About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Although they will not continue in the 2021 competition for National Merit Scholarship awards, Commended Students placed among the top 50,000 scorers of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2021 competition by taking the 2019 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
For more information about the National Merit Scholarship Program, visit NationalMerit.org.