Local students part of an elite group who are scholarship semifinalists
Forty-six of Clark County’s high school seniors reached the semifinals in the National Merit Scholarship Program competition, placing them among the smartest 1 percent of America’s high schoolers.
The 2011-12 competition, organized by a national nonprofit, awards scholarships based on PSAT scores, high school grades and community involvement.
The privately operated Meadows School produced 10 semifinalists, the most of any Clark County school. Coronado and Green Valley high schools produced the most semifinalists among local public schools, with seven and eight students, respectively.
The Davidson Academy of Nevada in Reno tied The Meadows School for most semifinalists of any school in the state. The academy is a public school for gifted middle and high school students at the University of Nevada, Reno.
All told, 89 Nevada seniors rank among the 1,600 students nationwide who made the cut as semifinalists from a field of about 1.5 million entrants. The distinction attracts the attention of prestigious colleges while also paving the way for the students to be among the approximate 8,300 who receive $2,500 National Merit scholarships.
Clark County students’ accomplishments often extended beyond straight A’s in the classroom.
Melanie Chambers of Coronado High School is a nationally ranked junior golfer and state champion with more than 60 titles. She just signed to play golf for Rutgers University, where she plans to major in music.
Lucas Sanford, also of Coronado, was a finalist in Nevada’s Secondary Mathematics Competition.
Joshua Curtis of Centennial High School placed second in the 2010 Silver State Piano Competition and placed third at the 2011 Nevada Regional Science Bowl.
Shanel Wu of Clark High School won silver in the Southwest Region Chinese Folk Dance Competition.
“We know you’re going to move on to do great things,” said Carolyn Edwards, president of the School Board for Clark County School District, at the board’s Wednesday meeting in a ceremony honoring the students.
The Clark County semifinalists are:
■ Hayley Rassuchine of Boulder City High School.
■ Melanie Chambers, Briana Chue, Lea Cohen, David Helmick, Nokhun Kim, Matthew Pohlmann and Lucas Sanford of Coronado High School in Henderson.
■ Kevin Cong, Forest Grayson, Kristen Hsu, Diana Ivey, Jason Singh, Matthew Solky, Sandeep Srinivasan and Genevieve Taylor of Green Valley High School in Henderson.
■ Cody Andersen, James Gan, Max Howald and Natasha Sushenko of Advanced Technologies Academy.
■ Kelly Craig of Arbor View High School.
■ Joshua Curtis of Centennial High School.
■ Shanel Wu of Clark High School.
■ Adam Sims of Del Sol High School.
■ Jason Kim of Faith Lutheran High School (private).
■ Michael Bessen, Larry Glines and Jacob Torres of Bishop Gorman High School (private).
■ Megan Alexander, Taylor Beck, Kenneth Brown, Stephen Cavallaro, Garrett Gosse, Briana Hall, Logan Lee, Richard Lee, Amanda Marks and Seth Merkin-Morokoff of Meadows School (private).
■ Kevin Chen and Omar Sandoval of Northwest Career and Technical Academy.
■ James Dambro and Timothy Mallon of Palo Verde High School.
■ Ian Stewart of Rancho High School.
■ Jazlyn Patricio-Archer and Durin Uddin of Sierra Vista High School.
■ John Rockenbach of Moapa Valley High School in Overton.
Another semifinalist, Blue Sheffer, formerly a student at the Las Vegas Academy of International Studies and the Performing Arts, has transferred out of the district.
Contact reporter Trevon Milliard at tmilliard@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0279.