Senior Andrew Beevers has been selected  out of 15,000 finalists for a National Merit Scholarship this year. As a result, he has the opportunity to be one of about 7,500 finalist selected to receive the scholarship of $2,500.

“My counselor and I worked together to submit a resume of all of the things I have done throughout high school, like my extracurriculars as well as an essay I wrote for them,” Beevers said.

The initial screening of entrants reaches about 1.6 million, which is then narrowed down to 16,000 semifinalists, and lastly brought down to 15,000 finalists who then have the potential to earn the scholarship.

“A lot of colleges contacted me because of this,” Beevers said. “They had scholarships that they may offer because they want to bring in kids to fill their honors.”

The National Merit Scholarship serves as a form of extra recognition for colleges because it aims to spotlight honorable students in order to encourage the achievement of academic excellence.

“I’m just glad that I’ve made it so far,” Beevers said. “I’m really lucky to have this opportunity and the help from my counselor, my teachers, and Mr. Hasty.”