Bettendorf students named National Merit Semifinalists

The National Merit scholarship is a prestigious honor presented to the top one percent of juniors who have taken the PSAT in each state. From Bettendorf, Breanna VerMeer, Oskar Skogman and Jason Jiang have been recognized as commended scholars. Justin Hettlage and Allison Kling have been recognized as semifinalists.

“Being a commended scholar has opened up a lot of new scholarship opportunities and impacted how I think about my college decisions,” VerMeer said.

To achieve the merit scholarship, semifinalists must submit a short essay and compete against other semifinalists. In 2018, there were approximately 16,000 National Merit finalists.

“I’m really happy about the recognition I received and the way my family and friends have encouraged me throughout the process. I didn’t do anything special to prepare for the PSAT so I was surprised by how well I did,” Hettlage said.

The National Merit finalists awarded the scholarship will be announced in the spring of 2020.

Breanna VerMeer, Oskar Skogman and Jason Jiang, the commended scholars, and Justin Hettlage and Allison Kling, the semifinalists accept recognition for hard work.