Levittown Students Honored By National Merit Scholarship Program

Levittown, N.Y. — Two seniors from the Levittown School District have been named semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship program, while eight more have been recognized as “commended students” in the program, according to a news release from the district.

For General Douglas MacArthur High School student Sarah Duda and Division Avenue High School student Nish Keer, the designation as semifinalists means they’ll remain in the running for one of 6,930 National Merit Scholarships that will be awarded next spring, cumulatively worth $26 million, according to a news release. The same release said that roughly 95 percent of semifinalists are named finalists, with half of all finalists being named Merit Scholars.

For Division’s Ashley Agatep and Daniel Smith, as well as MacArthur seniors Saahir Afraz, Allyssa Aquino, Kiera Blind, Meaghan Campbell, Alden Sykora and Kevin Tierney, the designation as a Commended Student still places them in rarified air among just 34,000 students nationwide, recognized for high preliminary SAT scores from last year.