Hoover school board honors 11 2024 National Merit semifinalists

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The Hoover school board on Tuesday night recognized 11 Hoover and Spain Park high school seniors for being named 2024 National Merit semifinalists and 13 students who received national recognition awards given to outstanding African American or Hispanic students.

The seven National Merit semifinalists from Spain Park High School this year are Parker Chase, Dylan Morgan, Arhum Pabani, Anna Parks, Andrew Phillips, Foster Thompson and Mason Waldron, and the four from Hoover High are Jakub Hel, Isaac McCollum, Stephen McCollum and Benjamin Smith.

They are among about 16,000 students named National Merit semifinalists nationwide, from among more than 1.3 million students who took the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test in 2022.

That puts them in the top 1% of high school seniors nationally, Hoover schools Superintendent Kevin Maddox said.

“We have some really, really smart students in our district,” Maddox said. “That’s an amazing accomplishment, and I wish all of these students well moving forward. We’re really excited for them and for the accomplishments they’ve made.”

The number of semifinalists in each state is proportionate to the state's percentage of graduating seniors nationwide.

In February, the College Board, which runs the National Merit Scholarship program, plans to narrow down its list of 16,000+ semifinalists to about 15,000 finalists, and then about half of those finalists will actually receive the National Merit Scholarship. The scholarship is $2,500, but the dollar amount pales in comparison to the honor that it represents, and students who achieve this honor usually receive many greater scholarship offers.

The scholarship winners are chosen based on their skills, accomplishments and potential for success in rigorous college studies.

College Board recognition awards

The College Board also each year gives out recognition awards for outstanding students in different demographic groups, including African Americans, Hispanic Americans, indigenous or Native Americans or students from rural areas or small towns.

The programs celebrate underrepresented students who excel academically on College Board assessments, including the PSAT, PSAT 10 and Advanced Placement exams.

To qualify for a recognition award, students must have a GPA of 3.5 or higher, have a PSAT score in the top 10% of students in their demographic group in their state, or have scored a 3 or higher on two or more AP exams in the ninth and 10th grade.

Students can include this academic honor on their college applications, and many colleges intentionally recruit awardees through the College Board’s Student Search Service.

Spain Park High had four National African American Recognition Award winners this year: Hannah Aduroja, Parker Chase, Terry Lamar and Mackenzie McCall.

Hoover High had seven National African American Recognition Award winners this year (Fernando Acevedo, Jasmine Clark, Jillian Clark-Williamson, Matthew Eligwe, Jillian Maclin, Camille Myhand and Collin Pate) and two National Hispanic Recognition Award winners (Keith Delarosa and Sofia Galvan Guerrero).

Hoover High’s college and career specialist, Cindy Bond, said Hoover school officials are thrilled to celebrate these students and the great work they’ve been doing.

Tracy Prater, the college and career specialist at Spain Park High, echoed that sentiment.

“We are so proud of these students who excel in every way at our school,” Prater said. “They are young people of strong character and intellect. This recognition is beyond deserved! They are all certain to have the same profound and positive impact on their future academic communities as they have at Spain Park.”