Seniors Rafay Cheema and Santosh Manikandan have both received recognition as National Merit Scholarship finalists.
This prestigious program awards academically talented high school seniors with more than 7,800 scholarships, equating to over $35 million. A finalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school to be endorsed and recommended by a high school official. Plus, the students have to write an essay and earn SAT/ACT scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test.
“This is an incredible opportunity for these two young men,” Mr. Kiesel, one of Liberty’s assistant principals said. “They are exceptionally talented and hardworking.”
Cheema has a weighted GPA of 4.6, scored a 36 on the ACT, is ranked the first in his class, and is recognized as an AP Scholar with Distinction. He is a member of HOSA, participates on the debate team, and has competed in math league competitions, making it to the state and national competitions each year. He is a four-year member of the our varsity tennis team, placing sixth at state as a freshman, and and seventh at state as a junior.
Cheema says he “take lots of practice tests and read more, because it helps you to be able to read faster.” He intends to continue his studies in computer science.
Senior Santosh Manikandan has a weighted GPA of 4.5, scored a 35 on the ACT, is ranked second in his class, and is recognized as an AP Scholar with Distinction. He is on the School Bowl team and has attended both Missouri Scholars Academy and Missouri Boys State. He is the co-founding member of the Coding Club, and currently serves as president, and is the chapter secretary for FBLA. Additionally, he served as governor of Missouri-Arkansas Key Club. Manikandan plans to major in industrial engineering/economics.
Merit scholars must have exceptional academic ability and show great potential for success in competitive and meticulous college studies. According to the National Merit Scholarship corporation, winners are chosen on the basis of their abilities, skills and accomplishments. So let’s give a round of applause for what these two young men have accomplished and are accomplishing.
