IN Pine-Richland Winter 2017 | Page 40

Five Students Named National Merit Finalists Ryan Ahearn Chelsea Carver The National Merit Scholarship Corporation named five Pine- Richland High School seniors as semifinalists in the 2018 National Merit Scholarship Corporation. They include: Ryan Ahearn, Chelsea Carver, Nathan Chang, Bruce Jia and Mahak Sethi. These five seniors are among 16,000 students, who are being named semifinalists in the 63rd annual National Merit Scholarship Program. About 90 percent of the semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing and about half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship. PRHS Preps for Two Productions in November The Pine-Richland High School International Thespian Society is presenting "Alice in Wonderland," and the PRHS theater classes are performing “A Christmas Carol” in November at PRHS, which is located at 700 Warrendale Rd. in Gibsonia, PA 15044. “Alice in Wonderland” Performance dates/times for “Alice in Wonderland” include: 4 p.m. on Nov. 16 (Complimentary show for senior citizens.) 7 p.m. on Nov. 17 1 & 7 p.m. Nov. 18 Sponsor John Dolphin is overseeing the performances along with student production manager Aman Sohail (senior). For ticket information, visit pinerichland.org/ tickets. “A Christmas Carol” Performance dates/times for “A Christmas Carol” include: 7 p.m. on Nov. 8 7 p.m. on Nov. 9 7 p.m. on Nov. 10 Sponsor Michelle Bruno is overseeing the production along with student director Brigita Ivaska and assistant student director Declan Allwein. They are teaming up with the Interact Club. Students will be collecting donations for hurricane victims and families in Las Vegas, Nev. For more information on tickets, visit: pinerichland. org/fallproduction. 38 Pine-Richland Nathan Chang Bruce Jia Mahak Sethi Seniors who were named Commended include Alyssa Bigley, Callista Carns, Charlotte Laubacher, Benjamin Martin, Keonwoo Park, Alexander Steger and Tyler Viljaste. The commended and semifinalists are being recognized for their outstanding work on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). The College Board and National Merit Scholarship Corporation cosponsor this standardized test, which is often administered during a student’s sophomore year and sometimes during a student’s freshman or junior year. Approximately 3.5 million students take the PSAT/NMSQT each year. 2014 Grad Earns Attendance at International Conference 2014 Pine-Richland High School graduate Andrew Vislosky, who is a senior at Penn State University majoring in petroleum engineering, earned a scholarship to attend an international conference with Oil and Gas industry leaders. He will join select students from around the world who will converge in London, England this October. The Leaders for Tomorrow scholarship program, sponsored by the New York Times and the Energy Intelligence group, identifies top graduates who have recently entered or are about to enter the oil and gas workforce. Jobwise, Andrew was very excited to see an offer letter from Shell Oil. He will be working for Shell Oil in New Orleans as a petroleum engineer once he graduates from Penn State in May 2018 – getting the offer a full nine months before he starts his full time role. Senior Chosen for National Association for Music Education All-National Honors Band Senior Troy Rowlands has been selected to represent Pine-Richland School District and Pennsylvania in the National Association for Music Education All-National Honors Band Nov. 25-29, 2017 in Orlando. Troy qualified through audition and participation in the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association All-State Band. He is only the second PR student in 20 years to be recognized on a national level. Congratulations to Troy and the PR band directors.