PREPARING STUDENTS FOR LIFE PAGE 2
Two Anoka-Hennepin students named National Merit Scholarship finalists
Two Anoka-Hennepin seniors could potentially join the ranks of such notable past National Merit Scholars as Bill Gates, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, and Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos.
Jacob Coenen, a senior at Champlin Park High School( CPHS), and Annrose Jerry, a senior at Blaine High School( BHS), have both been named National Merit Scholarship finalists.
“ I don’ t know if I’ ve ever had anybody make it this far,” said CPHS school counselor Jill Svoboda.“ I’ ve been here for 17 years and I think one year I had someone make it as a semifinalist, but I’ ve never had anyone make it this far. So this is huge.”
Students are chosen for the honor based on their PSAT scores, which is the practice version of the SAT they take during their junior year. About 1.5 million students take the test, and from those scores, about 16,000 semifinalists are chosen, who must then submit applications to become a finalist. Of the 15,000 Finalists nationwide, 2,500 will receive a one-time $ 2,500 National Merit Scholarship, and about 5,000 will receive college and corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarships ranging from $ 500 to $ 2,000 per year.
Finalists will be notified over the next couple of months whether they have been named National Merit Scholars.
But possibly more important than winning a National Merit Scholarship itself is the access to other college scholarships available after simply being named a finalist.
“ Just getting to this level and receiving this recognition opens doors for students at many institutions of higher education,” said Eileen Artemakis, executive director of public information for the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.
For instance, at the University of Texas at Dallas— which is one college Jerry is considering— finalists can get full tuition and fee coverage, a $ 4,000 per-semester stipend for books, supplies and other expenses, and a $ 1,500 per-semester oncampus housing stipend, as well as a one-time study abroad stipend of $ 6,000. All of which the university estimates totals more than $ 100,000 over the course of four years.
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I try to get involved in as many AP classes as I can.
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- Annrose Jerry, Blaine High School senior
The University of Minnesota- Twin Cities, where Coenen has chosen to go and where Jerry is also considering, offers several scholarships that give preference to National Merit finalists, ranging from $ 1,000 per year all the way up to $ 10,000 a year for four years.
More than 50 colleges around the country will automatically award full tuition scholarships to finalists, including the University of Minnesota- Morris.
So just being named a finalist is a pretty big deal, said BHS school counselor Annette Pare.
“ I would say it is a very big deal. We’ ve had maybe one other finalist that I can remember in the last few years. It’ s very rare,” she said.
Champlin Park High School senior Jacob Coenen and Blaine High School senior Annrose Jerry have been named National Merit Scholarship finalists.
Both Coenen and Jerry said they are excited to have made it this far. And both are very highachieving students.
Coenen has a 4.2 weighted grade point average( GPA) and takes honors, Advanced Placement( AP) and International Baccalaureate classes, as well as College in the Schools( CIS) classes, which are classes from the University of Minnesota taught directly at CPHS for college credit. He is the captain of the robotics team, which is going to regionals this month, and was a member of the music listening team that recently won the state championship. He also plays the violin in orchestra.
And on top of that, he’ s a really nice guy, Svoboda said.“ Not only is he bright, but he is about as polite as they come,” she said.“ Which makes it even nicer to know that he’ s earned this.”
Coenen said he plans to major in computer science at the University of Minnesota, and is really glad for the scholarship opportunities that come with being named a finalist.
“ I didn’ t realize how big a deal it was until Ms. Svoboda called me down and she got really excited and started taking pictures,” he said.“ But it’ s really good. It will help a lot with paying for everything.”
Jerry has been very intentional about her high school academic plans since ninth grade, Pare said.
“ Already at that point she was thinking down the road,” she said.“ So that stood out to me. Annrose has just been very self-advocating, very mature, and kind. She’ s fantastic.”
A member of the National Honors Society( NHS)
and two-time winner of the President’ s Volunteer Service Award, Jerry has been involved in the Center for Engineering, Mathematics and Science( CEMS) program at BHS for the past three years.
“ I just really like applying math and science to the real world and studying these problems around us,” she said.“ And I try to get involved in as many AP classes as I can. I’ ve always enjoyed them; the teachers just seem really passionate about what they’ re teaching.”
She was involved in speech and debate until last year, and this year she joined the ThreeSixty Journalism program— a nonprofit program at the University of St. Thomas that helps diverse Minnesota youth tell the stories of their lives and communities— as a news team leader. She is looking at a pre-medical track in college, with a potential economics minor.
But her real passion is music: she plays piano in jazz band and the flute in both band and orchestra, and she is a two-time all-state flautist for band. Music is what helps her deal with the stress of school life, she said, and doing things you’ re passionate about is important.
“ When I first heard about the National Merit program, I was very intimidated because it seems like finalists are like the top one percent of high schoolers. But it is doable if you put in the work. I definitely did a lot of practice tests, so I felt prepared,” she said.“ So it’ s great to focus on test prep, but don’ t give up what you’ re passionate about just for grades. There’ s a balance, but colleges always look for passions. So don’ t give up your passions.” ■
From Superintendent Law continued from page 1
to attain a four-year degree. In our community survey, 90 percent agreed that the district was meeting most or all student learning needs. While these numbers are strong indicators of the direction of district schools, we remain motivated to continually improve on our goal of preparing all students.
All of our staff plays a role in helping students achieve their dreams. In early spring, the district honored more than 400 staff members who have served Anoka-Hennepin for 25 years or more. This group represents secretaries, para-educators, custodians, child nutrition, teachers, administrators and others. Also recognized were nine employees who went“ Above & Beyond” to support student success. Each year it is difficult to limit the number awarded, as our schools are full of employees who exceed expectations in the work they do.
Events like these are reminders that schools are in the people business and having the right people in place is essential. I want to thank the more than 100 staff members who are entering retirement at the end of this school year, and assure the community that we will do our best to recruit people with the same passion and commitment to students.
As we plan for the future of our district and enrollment starts to grow, it’ s a time to work with our community to assess facility needs. As many of our schools celebrate their 50th anniversary, we need the community to weigh-in on our needs for the next decade and beyond. The School Board has established a“ Fit for the Future” task force that will be working over the next several months to engage in this discussion. Updates will be shared on the district website or directly at anoka. k12. mn. us / fff.
As important as it is to have quality staff, maintaining an informed and committed community is essential to helping students reach their potential and realize their dreams. Thank you for supporting our students as they complete another great school year.
Please join me in celebrating the success of our students and providing a message of support for our graduating seniors. After all, in the effort to prepare students, it takes all of us. ■