Four Pentucket Regional High School seniors, including one each from Haverhill and Merrimac and two from West Newbury, have been named “Commended Students” for the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program.
Students receiving the recognition are Mitchell Powers of Haverhill, Nathan Blanchard of Merrimac and Megan Reading and Casey Pedersen, both of West Newbury. Superintendent Justin Bartholomew and Principal Jonathan Seymour said letters of commendation from the school and National Merit Scholarship Corporation were presented to the students earlier this week.
Approximately 34,000 Commended Students nationwide were recognized this year. Though the four will not continue in the 2021 competition for National Merit Scholarship awards, the Commended Students placed among the top 50,000 scorers of the more than 1.5 million students who took the 2019 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
Seymour said, “They’ve demonstrated an exemplary commitment to their learning and these recognitions are a great, tangible example of that dedication.”
Powers, Blanchard and Reading were also selected for the College Board National Rural and Small Town Recognition Program based on their scores. The program, which is separate from the National Merit Scholarship program, recognizes students from underrepresented groups who have excelled on their tests and in the classroom.