Students ‘commended’ in National Merit Scholarship 2021 program
Two students each from Rome and Darlington have been named Commended Students in the 2021 National Merit Scholarship program.
Commended Students are recognized for exceptional academic promise demonstrated by their performance on the qualifying test used for program entry.
Darlington seniors Jonathan Murphy and Steven Yan won the honor along with Thu Truong and Mallory Rogers of Rome High.
Murphy is a member of Darlington’s Soccer Academy and the son of Dr. Bryant Murphy and Catrina Murphy of Durham, North Carolina.
Yan, also a resident student, is the son of Zhao Yan and Bin Yu of Shanghai, China.
Truong and Rogers got the news as they were preparing college applications.
“I was so surprised ... It is
truly an honor and I couldn’t be more excited,” Truong said.
Rogers was just as excited, she said.
“Even though I did not make it to semifinals, just being recognized as one of the top scorers is such an honor. I am definitely proud,” she said.
Those named Commended
Students have demonstrated outstanding potential for academic success, a spokesperson for the NMSC said, and “represent a valuable national resource.”
“(R)ecognizing their accomplishments, as well as the key role their schools play in their academic development, is vital to the advancement of educational excellence in our nation,” the unnamed spokesperson said in a release. “We hope that this recognition will help broaden their educational opportunities and encourage them as they continue their pursuit of academic success.”
According to the NMSC, there are approximately 34,000 commended students in the nation this year. They are among the top scorers out of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2021 competition by taking the 2019 Preliminary Sat/national Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.