Two Armstrong High School Seniors Named National Merit Finalists

Two Armstrong High School (AHS) seniors will have a little help paying their college tuition next fall after being named National Merit Finalists.

Mio Aoki-Sherwood and Matthew Spickelmier are now in the running to earn one of two awards from the National Merit Scholarship Foundation, which would offer up to $2,500 for college.

“We couldn’ be more proud of Mio and Matthew for their success,'' AHS Principal Erick Norby said. “They’re both excellent students and an inspiration to others here at Armstrong.”

Specifically, Aoki-Sherwood and Spickelmier are joined by about 7,500 other students around the country named as finalists. The top 2,500 students will receive a one-time $2,500 scholarship by being named National Merit Scholars, and the remaining 5,000 will receive college and corporate-sponsored scholarships ranging from $500 to $2,000.

To be named a National Merit semifinalist, Aoki-Sherwood and Spickelmier had to score in the top 1 percent in the state on the Preliminary SAT test, which was administered last year when students were juniors. More than 1.6 million juniors at 22,000 high schools across the country took that test, officials say.

To become a finalist, the two AHS students needed to submit a scholarship application with information about their academic record, participation in school and community activities, leadership abilities, employment, and any honors and awards.

National Merit Scholars, as well as college and corporate-sponsored winners, will be named in May.