Simley Senior Wins National Merit Scholarship, Eyes Future In Astrophysics

Simley senior Avery Garon joins 46 other Minnesota high schoolers today in officially receiving a National Merit Scholarship worth $2,500.  

The $2,500 Merit Scholar designees were chosen from a talent pool of more than 15,000 finalists in the 2012 National Merit Scholarship Program, according to a release from Illinois-based National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

To select scholarship winners, a committee of educators appraised a substantial amount of information submitted by both the Finalists and their high schools: the academic record, including difficulty level of subjects studied and grades earned; scores from two standardized tests; contributions and leadership in school and community activities; an essay written by the finalist; and a recommendation written by a high school official.

The number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state's percentage of the nation's graduating high school seniors.  

"I'm very proud that I was able to win the scholarship. It's a very prestigious award. It was definitely difficult to win," Garon told Patch. "There were a number of essays I had to write and I had to take the SAT and score quite high."  

On April 18, approximately 1,000 recipients of corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards were named, and on May 23 and July 9, some 4,800 more college-sponsored Merit Scholarship winners will be announced. By the conclusion of this year’s competition, around 8,300 academic champions will have won National Merit Scholarships worth over $35 million. 

Despite the hard work he put in over four years of high school, winning a National Merit Scholarship is just the beginning for Garon. 

"I'll be attending the University of Minnesota for undergrad. After that I'm planning to enroll in a graduate program at a high ranking university," Garon said. "I'm planning on getting my PhD in Astrophysics and going into research."

Sights firmly set on his future, Garon's advice to upcoming students hoping to achieve similar academic success is simple but poignant: "Work hard in class and pay attention. Even though the schoolwork may seem boring, give it your all. You'll be able to come to appreciate it and you'll do very well."