National Merit program recognizes 3 Elgin Academy seniors
For the second year in a row, three students at Elgin Academy have been recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) for their excellence in academic performance. Connor Flexman has been named a 2012 National Merit Semifinalist. He is the only senior from an Elgin high school to achieve this distinction. Flexman's classmates, Alexander Brock McCord and Nicholas Skawinski, have been named as commended students in the National Merit Scholarship program.
More than 16,000 semifinalists were named from among about 1.5 million high school seniors who took the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test during their junior year. This number represents less than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors, according to the National Merit Scholarship Corp. news release. The number of semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state's percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.
Flexman, as a semifinalist, has an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 8,300 National Merit Scholarships, worth more than $34 million, to be awarded in the spring. Scholarships awarded through the National Merit Program are underwritten by approximately 440 business organizations and higher education institutions as well as by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation's own funds.
To be considered for a Merit Scholarship, semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the finalist level of the competition. A semifinalist must have an academic record of high performance, be endorsed and recommended by the school principal, earn SAT scores that confirm the student's earlier qualifying test performance, complete a detailed scholarship application, and submit a self-descriptive essay about their participation and leadership in the school and community activities
McCord and Skawinski join the ranks of about 34,000 commended students across the nation to be recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Commended students are named on the basis of a nationally applied selection index score that may vary from year to year and is below the level required for participants to be named semifinalists in their respective states. Although commended students do not continue in the competition for National Merit® Scholarships, some of these students do become candidates for special scholarships sponsored by corporations and businesses.
Connor Flexman is the son of Jill and Steven Flexman of Sleepy Hollow. Among Connor's many activities at Elgin Academy are Environmental Club, Model UN, Mock Trial, National Honor Society, Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering, and Illinois Junior Classical League. He is currently President of Student Council. Last spring at Honors Convocation, he was recognized as the Classics Student of the Year and honored with the Dartmouth College Book Award and the Bausch & Lomb Science Award. This past summer he was named an AP Scholar with Distinction. Additionally, Connor has lettered in soccer, basketball, and track and field. He is a Big Brother/Big Sister program volunteer at Elgin Academy and a longtime volunteer with the Poplar Creek Prairie Creek Restoration project in Hoffman Estates.
Alexander Brock McCord is the son of Dr. Chris McCord of South Elgin. His activities include Spanish National Honor Society, International Thespian Society, Model UN, and Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering. He is an AP Scholar. He has also been a member of the track and field team and played junior varsity golf.
Nicholas Skawinski is the son of Susan and David Skawinski of West Dundee. He is a member of the National Honor Society, Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering, and the Illinois junior Classical League. He is an AP Scholar, and he has earned a letter in both track and field and cross country.