LHS Senior Named National Merit Semifinalist, 2 More Commended

LEMONT, IL — Lemont High School senior Kinga Strzalka earned National Merit Semifinalist honors thanks to her performance on the 2024 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, while two other LHS students were cited with National Merit Commended Students distinction, the school shared in a news release.

Given to high school juniors, more than 1.3 million students took the PSAT/NMSQT in October 2024. Approximately 16,000 students are named as National Merit Scholar Semifinalists, and roughly 34,000 students are designated as Commended Students. Of those named as National Merit Semifinalists, approximately 95 percent attain Finalist standing, and around half of those earn a National Merit Scholarship and receive Merit Scholar accolades, according to LHS.

The LHS students receiving National Merit Commended Students accolades include Nick Persak and Luke Rupert.

The scores compiled by Lemont High School’s three honorees ranked them among the top five percent of all U.S. students from the Class of 2026 who took the PSAT/NMSQT last year.

As a National Merit Semifinalist, Strzalka will continue in the competition for some of the approximately $26 million of National Merit Scholarships that will be offered in Spring 2026, LHS said. To be considered for a National Merit Scholarship, semifinalists and their high schools must submit a detailed scholarship application.

The nationwide pool of National Merit Semifinalists includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. The number of National Merit Semifinalists is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors. Semifinalists will learn if they become National Merit Scholar Finalists in February 2026.

Lemont’s Class of 2016 included a school record three National Merit Semifinalists, while the Class of 2018 set a school record for National Merit honorees (the total of National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists and National Merit Commended Students) with 16 students recognized as National Merit Commended Students. The Class of 2024 featured 11 total honorees, while the Class of 2019 and Class of 2025 each had nine students recognized. Lemont has had as many as nine National Merit honorees in a single year on four occasions, and multiple semifinalists eight times, the school said.

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation, a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance, was established in 1955.