(photo) Rianna Peng (center) 2024 National Merit Finalist, and (from left): Tony Jarvis, MHS Principal, Heath Walls, MHS assistant principal, and Melvin Cunningham, MHS assistant principal
Murray, Ky., February 14, 2024------Rianna Peng, Murray High School senior, has been named a Finalist in the 69th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.
After being named a Semifinalist in the fall, Peng was reviewed and evaluated based on her academic record, information about Murray High School’s curricula and grading system, national test scores, scholarship recommendations activities and leadership information, and completing an essay. This advancement from a semi-finalist places Peng in a group representing less than one percent of U.S. high school graduating seniors.
Peng joined more than 16,000 talented Semifinalists in the opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,140 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $28 million that will be offered this spring. Merit Scholar designees are selected based on their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies, without regard to gender, race, ethnic origin, or religious preference. To become a Finalist, the Semifinalist and a high school official must submit a detailed scholarship application, in which they provide information about the Semifinalist’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received.
The 2023 MHS Drum major and member of the MHS Band clarinet section, Academic Team, BETA, Math, and Art Clubs, Peng, earned a 36, the highest possible ACT composite score last spring and was inducted, along with 15 other students, into the Murray High School ACT 30+ club luncheon ceremony hosted by Murray State University in the Curris Center Ballroom. Since 2019, 86 Murray High School students who achieved a 30 or above on the ACT have been inducted.
NMSC, a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance, was established in 1955 specifically to conduct the annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Over 1.3 million juniors in about 21,000 high schools entered the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2022 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants.
National Merit Scholarship 2024 winners will be announced in four nationwide news releases beginning in April and concluding in July. These scholarship recipients will join nearly 375,000 other distinguished young people who have earned the Merit Scholar title.
Since 1974, Murray High School has boasted 49 National Merit Finalists, 3 Semi-Finalists, and 14 National Merit Commended scholars.
Peng is the daughter of Qiaofeng Zhang and Xulong Peng, Murray.