Athletics and art are easily recognizable around the school and within the South Gibson community, often garnering a following. But, it is easy to overlook the academic achievements of the student body. Gibson Southern High School is home to its first National Merit Semifinalist in almost five years, senior Eva Spindler.
The National Merit Scholarship program recognizes United States high school seniors for their academic merit based off of their PSAT scores. The National Merit Scholarship Corporation takes the highest and lowest scores on the PSAT for that year and finds the average, where they then decide who has made it as a Semifinalist. From those chosen, the seniors submit their grades, GPA, along with an essay about the required topic for that year.
“I filled out basic information about myself and my parents,” Spindler said. “I know the school has to do a portion of the application, and then the main thing is I have to write an essay.”
Principal Jon Adams and Guidance Counselor Kelley Asay view Spindler’s accomplishments as a testament to the hard work she had put into the PSAT and her knowledge all together.
“I’m sure she is excited; she is one of 16,000 high school seniors or Semifinalists,” Adams said. “That sounds like a lot, but when you think about how many high school seniors there are in the United States, throughout the entire country, that’s not that many.”
Spindler clearly recalled when she found out she was a Semifinalist.
“I was very surprised because one of my teachers, Mrs. Nurrenbern, talks about it sometimes, the National Merit Scholarship, and it sounds like something for super smart people, something you’re never going to accomplish,” Spindler said. “So, I was very surprised to hear I had gotten it. I had barely heard about it, since my sisters didn’t get it and we haven’t had one in the past few years.”
Before being surprised, Spindler had a sense of dread because Adams interrupted an interview she was conducting with Nick Hart, telling her he needed to speak with her. Spindler was to report to the principal’s officer when she was done.
“I was like, ‘What did I do wrong?’” Spindler said. “But, I got over there and it was Mr. Adams and Mrs. Sefton and I was like, ‘I really messed something up here. What did I do?’”
Spindler’s fear was for nothing. Sefton and Adams were there to deliver the good news. She was able to tell her parents but had to keep it a secret for a day, as the names of the Semifinalists had not officially been released.
It was nearly one full year for Spindler to learn about her placement, so there was no thought of being a Semifinalist in her mind. Humbly, Spindler did not think the PSAT average score would be something for her to even worry about.
“I feel like it definitely took some hard work, but if I’m being honest, I didn’t even really know the score could affect me that much,” Spindler said.
From the way she found out to the telling of others, Spindler has started to enjoy the recognition of her strong work ethic. Now, she also realizes the importance of the PSAT.
“I feel like it’s important for people to know about the score of the test and its connection to the National Merit Scholarship because I didn’t even think my PSAT score mattered at all,” Spindler said. “I went in and took it, didn’t really study and felt like it was something I had to do.”
Spindler completed her essay and submitted all paperwork to see if she moves to the next level of recognition, being a National Merit Finalist. From there, Finalists are eligible for one of 2,500 scholarships worth $2,500. Now, it is a waiting game to see what happens.
