Seven CCSD High School Seniors Named National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists

From left, top row: of Creekview HS, Peter Greenwell, Laura Hand and Kinley Sikes; of River Ridge HS, Rylan Radziewicz; bottom row: of Sequoyah HS, Livana Lekas and Valor Lekas; and of Woodstock HS, Xavier Olsen.  

Seven Cherokee County School District high school seniors today were named 2024 National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists!

They are: of Creekview HS, Peter Greenwell, Laura Hand and Kinley Sikes; of River Ridge HS, Rylan Radziewicz; of Sequoyah HS, Livana Lekas and Valor Lekas; and of Woodstock HS, Xavier Olsen.  Less than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors earn National Merit Semifinalist recognition. 

“Congratulations to our semifinalists on earning this prestigious academic achievement,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Brian V. Hightower said.  “Earning National Merit recognition requires many years of dedication to study and hard work by students.  Thank you to their teachers and schools, who I know join me in celebrating this impressive accomplishment.  We’re very proud of you and look forward to seeing you advance to the next level of this competition and onto many more successes.”
    
They will be honored by the Cherokee County School Board and Dr. Hightower at the School Board’s October meeting.

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation oversees the prestigious competition, and today named 16,000 semi-finalists, who were chosen from 1.5 Million students based on exceptional 2022 PSAT scores.  

For the next level of competition, the students will complete an application detailing academic achievements, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors; an endorsement and recommendation from a high school official; and an essay.  Students must additionally have earned SAT scores that confirm their PSAT performance. 

CCSD also learned today that Kinley Sikes of Creekview HS has earned a perfect score on the SAT – a rare feat!
 
National Merit then will announce the 15,000 finalists, who will compete for 7,500 scholarships worth about $30 million to be awarded in the spring.

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