The National Merit Scholarship program awarded two finalists with National Merit Scholarships. Seniors Larissa Herold, valedictorian of the 2017 senior class, and Judy Guan Li, who is ranked third, were recognized for their achievements during the Senior Awards Ceremony on May 17.
“I’m honored and excited to get awarded with this,” Li said. “It will help with the high cost of college.”
The first step to be eligible for the program is to first take the PSAT and see if the score qualifies for the program. The next steps will then be to send in an application with an essay, as well as a counselor recommendation.
“I feel lucky that my application was chosen among a lot of people’s,” Herold said. “It has been an honor to get this. It helps to have my hard work defray some of the cost for college.”
Herold plans to attend the University of Texas at Austin to study Environmental Engineering in the Honors Program, as well as having a double major in a liberal arts program called Plan II. Li plans on attending the University of Texas at Austin also to pursue a major in the Business Honors program.
“It’s very exciting to have National Merit Scholars and Scholarship recipients at McNeil,” Principal Courtney Acosta said. “I am proud and feel very fortunate to have such a great group of both students and staff.”