Student Shout-Out: Tori Kulbago

When Tori Kulbago was told she had to report to the principal’s office, she thought she was in trouble.

“I was like, ‘Oh my God, what have I done?’” she recalled.

The senior was actually about to hear great news — she was a semifinalist for the National Merit Scholarship.

“(The principal) told me I was on the list. First I was relieved, and I was also very excited, proud, you know,” Tori, 17, said.

Snagging one of the approximately 16,000 semifinalist spots nationwide runs in her family.

Her dad won the National Merit Scholarship when he was in high school, she said.

“My dad was a National Merit (winner), and he’s a genius type for sure. I’m not so much equal to my dad, but I’m making him proud,” she said. 

She earned the honor for receiving an outstanding score on the 2010 Preliminary SAT. She'll find out in February if she is one of the about 15,000 finalists who are in the running for one of the $2,500 scholarships and other prizes. There are three types of Merit Scholarship Awards distributed to about 8,300 students, according to the National Merit Scholarship Program website.

Tori credits much of her success to her classes.

"My school has a rigorous honors program that’s definitely prepared me."

And she stays busy. She's in the Latin and astronomy clubs, and “just some other ones,” she said.  She’s also part of the sound crew that puts on musicals at the school.  

She hopes to major in biomedical engineering and is interested in being a pilot, engineer or teacher.