Beverly Merit Scholar's Course Load Includes Five AP Classes

BEVERLY, MA —A Beverly High School student is one of 2,500 American high school students to receive a 2020 National Merit Scholarship.

Miranda C. Healy, who is considering a career in engineering and is the class of 2020 valedictorian, was one of 2,500 scholars chosen from a pool of 15,000 finalists for the prestigious award. Healy was a semi-finalist for the National Merit Scholarship last year.

"We are tremendously proud of Miranda," Superintendent Sue Charochak said. "She certainly reflects the values of BHS and is an outstanding leader in our Senior Class."

Healey's current course load includes AP calculus, AP biology, AP physics, AP Spanish, and AP English. In addition to the Merit Scholarship announced Wednesday, Healy received the Smith College Book Award and the University of Rochester Award in her junior year.

More than 1.5 million high school students apply annually for the highly-competitive National Merit Scholarships. For each state, the number of semi-finalists is proportional to that state's percentage of the total graduating seniors in the country.

To become a finalist, Healy and a Beverly High School officials had to submit a detailed application. The application contained information about her academic record, leadership abilities, the honors and awards she has received.