Maize has two students in the semi-finals of the National Merit Scholarship award: seniors Jeannine Lopez and Noah Hale. 

The National Merit Scholarship is a highly sought after scholarship that is given to students across the country who score high on their PSAT. Making it into the semifinals is a huge accomplishment for academically driven students.

“I had honestly forgotten about the whole thing,” Lopez said. “So it was a nice surprise! I probably said something along the lines of ‘oh, sick!’”

While Lopez is a very talented student in the classroom, she is also involved in many clubs and activities.

“Outside of academics, I’m involved in things such as debate, Mayor’s Youth Council, StuCo and forensics,” she said.

Hale is looking forward to his college career, and has set goals in mind for his next four years.

¨Some of my goals for … college are to get a 4.0 GPA and get a better idea of what I want to do for a career,¨ Hale said.

Lopez is also looking forward to her college experience, although she isn’t sure of the direction she will take.

“I don’t really know what college I want to attend yet,” she said. “But I’ve been looking at many places, such as Northwestern, Michigan and Kentucky.”

Hale plans to go to West Point in New York, but may choose Kansas State University if that doesn’t work. He has a plan for his major as well.

“I am planning on majoring in either nuclear or mechanical engineering,” he said. ¨I’ve always had fun in all the engineering classes in high school, so I think it would be something I would enjoy.¨