(l-r) Alan Zhou, Akila Shanmugham, Jack Lalonde, Helena Beikircher, Matthew Wiechec, Julia Poska, Principal Ed Schwartz, James Weiss, Lisa Koniecko, Mark Blessing, Autumn Ganahl and Swathi Pillalamarri. (Not pictured: Peyton Parker)
Downers Grove South High School announces that 12 students have been recognized as “Commended Students” in the 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program, an academic competition sponsored by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. The designation recognizes a student’s “outstanding academic promise,” according to the NMSC.
About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are recognized, which represents the top five percent of more than 1.5 million students who took the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
The following South High students are 2016 National Merit Commended students:
• Helena Beikircher (South High School student from Downers Grove)
• Mark Blessing (South High School student from Downers Grove)
• Autumn Ganahl (South High School student from Downers Grove)
• Lisa Koniecko (South High School student from Downers Grove)
• Jack Lalonde (South High School student from Downers Grove)
• Swathi Pillalamarri (South High School student from Downers Grove)
• Peyton Parker (South High School student from Woodridge)
• Julia Poska (South High School student from Woodridge)
• Akila Shanmugham (South High School student from Downers Grove)
• James Weiss (South High School student from Downers Grove)
• Matthew Wiechec (South High School student from Downers Grove)
• Alan Zhou (South High School student from Woodridge)
“Everyone in our community should be proud of all of these students and congratulate them on the achievement of being recognized in this prestigious program,” says Superintendent Dr. Mark McDonald. “This recognition will help expand their educational opportunities and pursuit of academic success.”
For more information about the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, please visit www.nationalmerit.org.
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