By Alexis Newman
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation recently announced the names of thousands of students across the nation who have earned the status of semifinalists in this year’s National Merit Scholarship Program, and one of the lucky students is Lincoln Parish’s own Jason Willis, a senior at Ruston High School.
Each year, high school students in the U.S. take the pre-SAT exam, a standardized test, and their score is what determines whether they qualify for the National Merit Scholarship Program, a competition in which the high-scoring students submit their transcript and an essay in order to receive scholarships. Those high-scoring students are called the semifinalists, making Willis one of the students who now has the opportunity to qualify for those scholarships.
Throughout his academic career, Willis has received many awards and gotten involved in his community in multiple ways. He is currently an editor for the school paper, Chatter Box, and he is a member of both the National Honor Society and the Future Business Leaders of America. Willis is also an AP student, and he earned the title of student of the month for September by the local Rotary Club.
Amy Willis, Jason’s mother, said, that despite being surprised at being the only semifinalist in the parish, Jason is thrilled by the opportunity. He’s still in the process of deciding which college he’ll go to next year, but his mother said that he has plenty of interests that he’d potentially like to pursue in college, such as sports, history, writing, political science, and law.
While he isn’t the first student from Ruston High to earn the semifinalist designation, the people in the school’s community recognize that his involvement in multiple extracurriculars and his high academic standing make him a prime candidate for the title.
“It’s a good deal, and it’s a prestigious honor, and we try to make a big deal out of it when we have a kid or two that get it,” Ruston High School principal Daniel Gressett said. “It’s newsworthy, and those are really high-achieving students. Just for them to be recognized is a good thing, and Jason’s a good kid and a good student here.”
