Point Pleasant Boro Student Is 'Commended' National Merit Scholar

POINT PLEASANT BORO – A Point Pleasant Boro student has been recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Program.

Principal Kurt Karcich of Point Pleasant Boro High School announced today that Soncera Ball has been named a "Commended Student" in the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program.

A Letter of Commendation from the school and National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), which conducts the program, will be presented by the principal to this scholastically talented senior.

“Soncera is an exemplary student who has excelled in our most rigorous courses,” Karcich said in a district release. “She has been a model student and a leader among her peers since she entered the high school. We are all so proud of her!”

About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Although they will not continue in the 2021 competition for National Merit Scholarship awards, Commended Students placed among the top 50,000 scorers of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2021 competition by taking the 2019 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

“Those being named Commended Students have demonstrated outstanding potential for academic success,” a spokesperson for NMSC told the district. “These students represent a valuable national resource; recognizing their accomplishments, as well as the key role their schools play in their academic development, is vital to the advancement of educational excellence in our nation. We hope that this recognition will help broaden their educational opportunities and encourage them as they continue their pursuit of academic success.”

Soncera is a well-rounded individual who not only shines in the classroom, but also excels in her extracurriculars, Superintendent of Schools Vincent S. Smith said. When she’s not a conducting drum major, she plays mellophone in the marching band and F horn in concert band, he said.

“Congratulations to Soncera on the incredible achievement of being recognized as a Commended Student,” Smith said. “Throughout her high school career, she has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to academic excellence. I wish her the best of luck in her senior year.”