Five Lake County students have been named Finalists in the 66th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Finalists are Jackson Cheplick, East Ridge High School; Audrey Lord, Eustis High School; and Kendyl Cardwell, Jathin Gadiparthi, and Avery Morrison, Montverde Academy.
According to the National Merit organization, the five students are among 15,000 out of 16,000 Semifinalists who were selected to advance to the Finalist standing in the program nationwide. These academically talented high school seniors will continue in the competition for 7,600 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $30 million to be awarded this spring.
“Congratulations to these outstanding scholars,” said Diane Kornegay, Lake County Schools Superintendent. “They have put in the work and maintained a focus on excellence. I am proud of them, excited for them, and look forward to future success stories from them as they continue their academic pursuits.”
“On behalf of Montverde Academy and the MVA Board of Directors, I congratulate these students on being named National Merit Scholar Finalists,” said Dr. Kasey C. Kesselring, Montverde Academy Head of School. “Kendyl, Jathin, and Avery have worked extremely hard to excel, and it is through their focus, dedication, and preparation for the next step in their educational endeavors that they have achieved such notable success. They are leaders who have earned recognition among an outstanding group of students nationwide, and I commend all of the students on their achievement.”
Lake County’s National Merit Finalists are:
Kendyl Cardwell, Montverde Academy — She is a member of Montverde Academy’s Distinguished Scholars program, the Head of School’s Leadership Institute (HLI) as a representative on the Arts and Athletics Leadership Committee and the Math Club; and runs on MVA’s state-ranked, nationally recognized varsity cross country team. Kendyl also founded MVA’s Newspaper Club and has published articles in the South Lake Tablet, a Clermont-based online news source. Kendyl will study molecular engineering and run for the University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois.
Jackson Cheplick, East Ridge High School — He ranks in the top 3.5 percent of his class, participates in Advanced Placement courses whenever offered and has even taken additional AP courses through virtual school. He participates in the Lake County Rowing Association, HiQ, Mathlympics and serves as the VP of Competition for DECA.
Jathin Gadiparthi, Montverde Academy — He is a four-year member of MVA’s Robotics team, who excels at the building portion of the competitions. Jathin is also a member of the Math Club and pursuing a Study Area Concentration specialized diploma in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). Jathin plans to study nuclear engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia.
Audrey Lord, Eustis High School — She ranks in the top 3 percent of her class, takes Dual Enrollment courses, and has taken numerous Advanced Placement courses. She is a member of the Eustis High School Golden Panther Band program and has earned many Superior ratings at both District and State level music performance assessments. She has also been a member of the FBA District 19 All-District Concert Band.
Avery Morrison, Montverde Academy — She is a member of Montverde Academy’s Distinguished Scholars program and runs on MVA’s state-ranked, nationally recognized varsity cross country team. Avery has committed to attend and run for the University of California, San Diego, NCAA Division I cross country team.
More than 1.5 million juniors in about 21,000 high schools entered the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2019 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of Finalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state.
All National Merit Scholarship winners will be selected from this group of Finalists. Merit Scholar designees are selected on the basis of their skills, accomplishment and potential for success in rigorous college studies, without regard to gender, race, ethnic origin or religious preference.
