In the 2019-2020 school year, Eaglecrest High School is proud to have Anna Ames as the only National Merit Semifinalist present in our school.

     The National Merit scholarship is a prestigious grant of money to the top 1% of test takers on the PSAT/NMSQT, which you generally take in October of your junior year. You must already be an academic scholar in order to qualify for this opportunity, a bill Anna Ames fits perfectly.

      “By the end of this year I will have taken twelve AP classes,” she said, “I doubled up on social studies sophomore year and science last year.”

       But the National Merit scholarship can not be achieved on a mere whim. It takes practice, dedication, and ambition of the mind.

     “Mr. Fennell held study sessions once a week leading up to the PSAT and I did some review on Khan academy,” said Ames. “We also had some multiple choice practice in classes like AP Lang.”

      Though the  National Merit scholarship takes hard work and true devotion to education, it is within anyone’s reach.

        “High School is rough but you’re way more capable than you know. Prioritization is key and you don’t have to do everything perfectly,” said Ames. “ It’s going to benefit you to study for the SAT whether you care about the scholarship or not, so just do your best regardless.”

       For the ambitious students our school undoubtedly possesses, the sky’s the limit for the level of achievement that can be attained on this test. But for now, in this 2019-2020 school year, we commend Anna Ames for her inspiring intellect, unbreakable zeal, and tremendous spirit. Her achievement reflects the very principles supporting our school and we thank her for her devotion to the raptor way.