Saint Ursula Academy is proud to announce senior Colleen Lake of Pleasant Ridge as a Semifinalist in the National Merit Scholarship Corporation competition for the 2022-2023 school year.
Ms. Lake is among the 16,000 students of more than 1.5-million nationwide who entered the competition by taking the 2021 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Qualifying Test last fall. The semifinalists represent less than 1% of U.S. high school seniors, and includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state.
Lake said she felt honored when she learned she was a National Merit Semifinalist. “I felt that my hard work and all the support from Saint Ursula and my family had paid off.”
To what does she credit her success on the PSAT test? “I attribute my test success to the learning I have done in the last few years at Saint Ursula Academy. I did not prepare specifically for the PSAT, but the PSAT definitely helped prepare me for taking the ACT last fall and winter.”
“My family has been my main support system throughout my time at Saint Ursula, helping me grow, cheering me on, and helping me lift myself back up when I fail. I am very grateful to the support my family has given me on my academic and personal journey at Saint Ursula. SUA has contributed to my academic success by providing opportunities to explore my interests and passions, and has provided me with support from teachers and counselors when I have experienced struggles on my journey.”
She added, “The teachers that have been especially helpful to my growth at SUA are Dr. O’Mahony and Mrs. Hammond. Both of them have been great sources of support inside and outside of the classroom, helping me grow in my academics and my individual values. Both of their classes helped me explore my passions and gave me opportunities to develop my interests.”
Her favorite classes so far have been Honors Biology and AP Chemistry. She added, “I have additionally taken other science electives that I have really enjoyed such as Honors Biotechnology, Invertebrate Zoology, and Explorations in Engineering.”
Lake is involved in the SUA Field Hockey team, Social Justice Club, Biology Club, Ohio Junior Classical League (OJCL), Student Outreach Services, and the Engineering Club, which she helped start this year. Outside of SUA, she volunteers at Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired and with YMCA Camp Ernst as a counselor and Junior Board Leader.
Looking ahead to next year, she says she is interested in majoring in biology or chemistry in college and hopes to pursue either a pre-med track or biomedical research. She is still in the early part of her college search and is excited at what is yet to come. “I look forward to the opportunities the future holds!”
‘We are incredibly proud of Colleen, whose commitment to her academics is evident by this accomplishment,” said Dr. Mari Thomas, Saint Ursula Academy principal. “What’s as important is to recognize that Colleen is also a caring, confident leader committed to living Saint Ursula’s mission to build a better world. We can’t wait to see what she accomplishes in the future!”
The academically talented high school senior semifinalists have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,600 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $30-million that will be offered in the spring. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of competition. Over 90% of the Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and about half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.
Photo Courtesy The New Studio