National Merit Scholars

The National Merit Scholars competition has come down to semifinalists at Plainfield High School, with all of the candidates being academically extraordinary.

The National Merit Scholarship Program is a national academic competition for high school students to win financial aid for college. It is administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC). Students qualify for this program by achieving a high score on the PSAT.

Senior Isra Badar is one of these competitive students in the semi-finals and has bright hopes for the future. "In five years, I hope I'm entering either medical or dental school. In 10 years, I hope I make it to residency after graduate school," said Badar. "I hope I can earn some scholarships to different colleges by becoming a semifinalist."

Badar said that she worked hard for this accomplishment. "I make sure I do my assignments, study before tests and ask questions when I don't understand something," she said "I mainly just look back over my notes and do practice problems as much as I can when I'm studying."

She explained, "I think I might stand out in the classes I take because I've taken a lot of different science and math classes."

Badar is one of seven finalists from PHS. Other seniors who earned this honor are Lucas Anderson, Adam Bedel, Olivia Carrico, Jackson House, Olivia Ochs and Sydney Ochs.

Story by Chloe Sumner