Four Padua Franciscan High School seniors were recognized as National Merit Commended Students. A letter of commendation from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation was presented to Yifan “Emily” Gao ’21, Eleanor Hauck ’21, Anthony Shuman ’21 and Genevieve Zalar ’21 in September 2020 by Principal David Stec ’86 .
About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation have been recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Commended Students placed among the top five percent of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2021 competition by taking the 2019 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
A NMSC spokesperson stated, “The Commended Students have demonstrated outstanding potential for academic success. These students represent a valuable national resource; recognizing their accomplishments, as well as the key role their schools play in their academic development, is vital to the advancement of educational excellence in our nation. We hope that this will help broaden their educational opportunities and encourage them as they continue their pursuit of academic success.”
Emily entered Padua from Normandy (following 8th grade). Eleanor is an alumna of the Academy of St. Adalbert. Anthony is a graduate of St. Columbkille School. Genevieve attended Incarnate Word Academy prior to Padua.
