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National Merit finalist honors for North Putnam’s Ellis Lyons
North Putnam High School senior Ellis Lyons has been named a finalist in the National Merit Scholarship Program, placing him in one of the highest tiers of high school students.
Lyons is one of approximately 15,000 seniors from across the country competing for 7,500 scholarships worth about $30 million that will be offered in the spring.
Lyons has also been involved with a variety of extracurricular activities while attending North Putnam High School. He is a member of the National Honor Society and the math academic team as well as the Key Club. Ellis has also participated as a varsity athlete in cross country and basketball during his high school career.
Lyons plans to attend college in the fall to pursue a degree and a career in computer engineering.
“He is one of the hardest workers that I have encountered in my educational career,” Assistant Principal Brandon Wagler said. “Ellis always wants to do his very best, constantly has a super attitude and makes North Putnam a better place. Ellis always has a smile on his face, is very respectful and he brings valuable insight and leadership to all his classes.”
“Ellis is a gifted student who has excelled alongside some great instructors,” Principal Jason Chew added. “We are excited to celebrate this academic achievement, but more importantly excited to see where his talents take him after high school.”
“In math, Ellis is amongst the very elite students who not only love the subject, but understand it deeply,” teacher Michelle Spencer said. “He can think beyond what is taught and apply things in new and creative ways. He has a unique mind that a teacher rarely gets a chance to influence. Truly, sometimes he teaches you more than you teach him.”
About 1.6 million juniors in more than 22,000 high schools entered the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2020 Preliminary National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which served as an initial screen of entrants. The nationwide pool of semifinalists, representing less than one percent of high school seniors, includes the highest scoring entrants in each state. The number of semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.
To be considered for a National Merit award, semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the finalist level of the competition. Semifinalists and their high school had to submit a detailed scholarship application, in which they provide information about their academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment and honors and awards received. A semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay and earn scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test.
Three types of National Merit Scholarship awards will be offered. Every finalist will compete for one of 2,500 scholarships worth $2,500 which will be awarded on a state-representational basis. About 1,000 corporate-sponsored awards will be provided by approximately 230 corporations and business organizations for finalists who meet their specified criteria. In addition, about 190 colleges and universities are expected to finance some 4,000 college-sponsored awards for finalists who will attend the sponsor institution.
The 2022 National Merit Scholarship winners will be announced beginning in April and through July.