PIHS’ Paul Elish
named National Merit Scholarship winner
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — Paul Elish, a senior at Presque Isle High School, was recently named a National Merit $2,500 Scholarship winner.
The 2,500 Merit Scholar designees were chosen from a talent pool of more than 15,000 finalists in the 2011 National Merit Scholarship Program.
National Merit $2,500 Scholarship winners are the finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies. They were selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors. These scholars may use their awards at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university.
“My friend, Samantha Sanborn, who graduated from PIHS last year, received a scholarship through the program in 2010, so it felt great to continue Presque Isle High School’s winning streak,” said Elish.
All finalists competed for these awards. To select scholarship winners, a committee of educators appraised a substantial amount of information submitted by both the finalists and their high schools — the academic record, including difficulty level of subjects studied and grades earned; scores from two standardized tests, contributions and leadership in school and community activities, an essay written by the finalist, and a recommendation written by a high school official. The number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the nation’s high school graduating seniors.
This year’s competition for National Merit Scholarships began in October 2009 when approximately 1.5 million juniors in some 22,000 high schools took the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. Last fall, the highest-scoring participants in each state, representing less than 1 percent of the state’s seniors, were named semifinalists on a state representational basis. Only the 16,000 semifinalists had an opportunity to continue in the competition.
From the semifinalist group, 15,000 met the very high academic standards and other requirements to advance to the finalist level of the competition. By the conclusion of the 2011 program, about 7,800 finalists will have earned the “Merit Scholar” title and received a total of nearly $35 million in college scholarships.
“I was very excited to receive notice of the award,” Elish said. “It was a lengthy process, beginning with taking the PSAT in the fall of my junior year, so there is definitely a sense of accomplishment now that the selection process has concluded.”
Next year, Elish, the son of Walt and Therese Elish, plans on attending Yale University in New Haven, Conn.
“I’m considering majors in history, biology, and various other sciences,” he said. “Working for the State Department and working as a researcher and professor at a university currently represent careers of interest to me. However, I’m keeping an open mind regarding careers to pursue.”
National Merit Scholarship Corp. (NMSC), a not-for-profit corporation that operates without government assistance, was founded in 1955 specifically to conduct the annual National Merit Scholarship Program. The majority of scholarships offered each year are underwritten by approximately 440 independent corporate and college sponsors that share NMSC’s goals of honoring scholastically talented youth and enhancing their educational opportunities.
