By: Fatima Ramzanali
On Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 7:30 am, the School Counseling Advisory Council recognized one semi-finalist and eleven commended students at Westborough High School’s Annual Celebratory National Merit Breakfast. These twelve students were honored for their exceptional scholastic promise and outstanding performance on the PSAT/NMSQT taken the fall of their junior year. Students who;l were recognized were: Elizabeth Anderson, Ayesha Anwar, Eugene Jang, Cailin Li, Ningrui Li, Samuel Mayo, Lucy Song, Sneha Subramaniam, Owen Tian, Linda Wang, Elliot Wu, and the semi-finalist, David Zingher.

“I’m very fortunate to be in this position,” comments Sam Mayo. “It’s quite the honor.”

And that it is: 50,000 scholastically talented high school students qualified for the National Merit Program, but only 34,000 nationwide qualified as commended students. Out of that vast number, 11 were Westborough High School students. In addition, 16,000 of the high scorers represent less than one percent of the nation’s high school graduating seniors who qualified and are named semi-finalists in the National Merit Program. One of these accomplished students is a WHS senior who will have the opportunity to advance to the final level and compete for National Merit scholarships.

A final remark by Mr. Smith concluded that “this is a school-wide celebration of our most promising and achieving students. They are here because of a high score on an exam, but there is an obvious correlation between performance and their dedication and motivation to put their best efforts out there.”

The School Counseling Advisory Council would like to acknowledge the efforts of the dedicated School Counseling Advisory Committee who made this program possible. Along with being the formal community link between the school, home, and community groups, they assist and support the School Counseling programs such as this special occasion. They would like to especially thank Terry Gavin, Maura Shunney, Lauren Foto, Dorin Thibeault, and Judy Martin.