Connor Espenshade, Will Rueter Ava Schwan, and Luke Sikkema named National Merit Semifinalists

Four CHCA Seniors Named 2022 National Merit Semifinalists

Symmes Township, Ohio Heather Wilkowski, Upper School Principal of Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy, has announced that Connor Espenshade (of Mason), Will Rueter (of Liberty Township), Ava Schwan (of Loveland), and Luke Sikkema (of Loveland) have been named National Merit Semifinalists. A certificate from the National Merit Scholarship Cooperation will be presented to these students at CHCA’s Academic Awards Night in April 2022.

These academically talented high school seniors now have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $30 million that will be offered next spring. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. About 95 percent of the Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and approximately half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.

High school juniors entered the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2020 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest scoring entrants in each state. The number of Semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.

To become a Finalist, the Semifinalist and a high school official must submit a detailed scholarship application, in which they provide information about the Semifinalist’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and rewards received. A Semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn SAT or ACT scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test.

“I am thrilled to announce these students as National Merit Semifinalists,” shared Wilkowski. “Their commitment to excellence in all that they do, exemplifies the very essence of CHCA. I look forward to the incredible things they will accomplish now and in the future.”