Student wins National Merit Scholarship

OLD SAYBROOK — Isabella Carlo, a senior at Old Saybrook High School, has been recognized as a National Merit Scholar and is a recipient of the National Merit Scholarship.

Of the 1.5 million students who were entered into the contest, Carlo found herself in a pool of only 16,000 other students (less than 1 percent of seniors) across the country as a semifinalist for the National Merit Scholarship based on her exemplary PSAT scores, according to a news release.

To become a National Merit Scholarship finalist, Carlo completed a scholarship application, which included an essay, information about her extracurricular activities, awards she had won during her high school career, and any leadership positions she held within the school and community. Finalists also had to provide transcripts which demonstrated consistent, outstanding academic performance, the release said. According to the National Merit Scholarship Corp., scholarship winners were the finalists determined to “have the strongest combination of academic skills and achievements, extracurricular accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies.”

Carlo was announced as one of 7,500 National Merit Scholarship Winners in late March, the school said.

“When I first heard about the competition before my junior year, I thought it was something fantastic to strive for, and I did a lot of preparation and studying for the PSAT,” Carlo said in a prepared statement. “When I found out that I was a semifinalist, I was initially surprised because I knew the field was very competitive, but I am really grateful for the award and for the opportunity to make my education more affordable.”

Carlo, who will be attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the fall, plans to major in physics and minor in astronomy. Her hope is to advance into a medical degree and eventually begin research into the effects of prolonged space travel on the human body in an effort to aid with future deep space exploration efforts, the news release said.

Contributed photo Isabella Carlo, a senior at Old Saybrook High School, has been recognized as a National Merit Scholar and is a recipient of the National Merit Scholarship.