Six WHS seniors among top 1% in nation

WHS National Merit Scholars (left to right) are Jennifer Chern, Kyle Lathem, Sarah Stroh, Caitlin Smith, Philip Papajcik, Charlotte Tate, Lauren Choban, Thomas Carroll, Kelsey Salamone, Mark Rzewnicki and Kelley Zhou.

Six Westlake High School students were named 2012 National Merit Semifinalists, and five students were named Commended students in the National Merit Program.

Semifinalists Thomas Carroll, Jennifer Chern, Lauren Choban, Kyle Lathem, Caitlin Smith and Kelley Zhou will move on to compete for about 8,300 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $34 million.

They are among 1.5 million students from 22,000 high schools across the country who took the PSAT in their junior year. Less than one percent of high school seniors make it to the semifinal round. About 15,000 students are expected to move on to become National Merit Finalists, which should be announced in February.

WHS also has five National Merit Commended students – Philip Papajcik, Mark Rzewnicki, Kelsey Salamone, Sarah Stroh and Charlotte Tate. They are among the 34,000 high scorers on the PSAT/NMSQT who are recognized for their outstanding academic promise.