Olson Achieves Semifinalist Status

Olson Achieves Semifinalist Status

Cranberry Junior Senior High School is home to many talented, successful individuals, and recently, Trevor Olson qualified as a semifinalist for the National Merit Scholarship.

For those who aren’t aware of what this semifinalist status entails, College Board collects PSAT scores from across the nation and selects the top 50,000 scores. The number of students chosen from each state is determined by the percentage of students in each state who took the PSAT.  From that point, College Board takes 16,000 of those top students as semifinalists. Those who were not selected as semifinalists got letters of commendation. 

Trevor was first informed of his selection as a semifinalist on a typical school day. Between classes, Mr. Godinich pulled him away to the library where his parents were eagerly awaiting his arrival to reveal his achievement. 

Trevor hadn’t anticipated becoming a finalist, so in the face of this commendable accomplishment, he couldn’t help but experience a mixture of surprise, bliss, and pride. According to Trevor, his inclination to expand his knowledge, ability to easily memorize and recall information, and natural talent in a variety of subjects were all contributing factors to his success. 

“I have a lot of people who are always pushing me to do better, and I greatly appreciate that,” Trevor stated. 

Moving forward, Trevor has the capability to become a National Merit Scholarship finalist, though it may be some time before he’s informed of College Board’s decision. To qualify as a finalist candidate, Trevor had to complete an application and an essay pertaining to someone who has influenced him; for this essay, Trevor chose to write about Mrs. Mitchell, his gifted instructor here at Cranberry. 

For aspiring National Merit Scholarship semifinalists, Trevor recommends getting a good night’s rest, minimizing stress on a day-to-day basis, and making an effort to pay attention during classes to retain as much information as possible. Though the competitive nature of the PSATs may be intimidating, success isn’t beyond reach.