Archdiocesan high school students earn National Merit acclaim

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — High school students across the Archdiocese of Newark were recently recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Corp. for outstanding achievement on the PSAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test in 2021. The Archdiocese congratulates five students who were awarded the title of National Merit Scholarship semifinalist and the 36 students who were recognized as commended students.

“We are very proud of our students and their academic accomplishments,” said Brother Christopher Hall, assistant superintendent of high schools for the Archdiocese of Newark. “These students bring great pride and recognition to our Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Newark. We wish them the best of luck as they continue to work through the National Merit Scholarship Program’s rigorous application process.”

Amanda Rohde, a student at Mount St. Dominic Academy in Caldwell, was named a semifinalist for the National Merit Scholarship.  

The semifinalists will compete for more than 7,250 National Merit scholarships worth nearly $28 million that will be announced in spring 2023. All winners will be selected from this group of semifinalists. High school juniors entered the 2023 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2021 PSAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of semifinalists, representing less than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. 

In Essex County, the following students at Archdiocese schools were recognized as commended students: from Seton Hall Preparatory School in West Orange, Anthony A. Armanious, Charles R. Gehringer, Jonah X. George, Liam K. Jones, Ryan J. Rauschenberger, Ethan C. Salzano and Leyan Yu; and, from Lacordaire Academy in Montclair, Amber Greene and Kelly Miller.