By PATRICK SWEET ‘19
On Wednesday, October 19, 2016, over 3.5 million high school juniors across the nation were tested on their skills in reading, writing, and mathematics for less than four hours. Some desired to get it over with to enjoy the remainder of their day off, while others got butterflies, knowing the gravity and importance of each mark they put down on their paper…but only 35,000 students would come out in the top 1% of test takers.
Congratulations to the following 34 students and of the class of 2018 who were recently recognized as National Merit Scholars, as well as two National Hispanic Scholars: (National Hispanic Scholars*)
Aymin Bahhur, Alan Bahr, Andrew Boldy, Matthew Borden, Colin Burns, Andrew Chesney, Gerard Daher, David DeSalvo, Michael Fornes, Richard Hofstra, Brian Karim, Bennett Kavlick, Ray Kman, Aleksei Kundla*, Jacob Leksan, Adam Lis*, Orest Mahlay, David McDonald, William McGuire, Joseph O’Donnell, Gergely Pal, Caleb Palagyi, Maxwell Pike, Bryce Polito, Akash Ramalingam, Alexander Rambasek, Beck Saine, Ethan Sanders, Isaac Smith, Jack Snyder, Christopher Uhran, Cullen Viancourt, Samuel Watters, and Philip Zuccaro.
Assistant Principal for Academics, Mr. Joseph Ptak, remarked on the accomplishment of the young men, saying, “We are very proud of the 34 National Merit scholars in the Class of 2018 and the hard work, determination and dedication that this award represents. This achievement marks them among the top scholars in the state of Ohio and across the country. I can’t help but be hopeful for the future when I think about how these students, along with all their classmates, can make a difference in our world with the many wonderful gifts God has given them.”
When asked if he had any advice, Caleb Palagyi recommended that students put maximum effort into homework each night, making these tests much less worrisome. Palagyi says that he never intended to go into debt for college, now a feasible aspiration.
Give these fellow classmates a pat on the back when you run across them in the hall. Best of luck is wished to the rest of the school on their upcoming standardized tests.
