Area National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists
TENNESSEE› Baylor: Talus G. Iorio-Ronek› Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences: Allycia Lee› East Hamilton Middle-High School: Jared Azevedo› Girls Preparatory School: Leah Baxter, Lori Baxter, Isabella Cornea, Rebecca Torrence and Phoebe Warren› Marion County High School in Jasper: Seth Drey› McCallie School: Maclain Aslinger, Andrew Aultman, Nathaniel Little› STEM School of Chattanooga: Renee Schebler› Walker Valley High School, Cleveland: Jacob Judd› Warren County High School, McMinnville: Hayden EverettGEORGIA› Dade County High School, Trenton: Jed Henderson› Gordon Central High School, Calhoun: Gabriel DixonSource: National Merit Scholarship Program
Twin sisters Leah and Lori Baxter used to compete academically, but now say they've settled that sibling rivalry.
"I typically don't do better than Leah," Lori said, "but I'd always ask how she did on tests to see how I compared, because I took pride in that."
Now the 17-year-old Girls Preparatory School seniors have scored an honor that levels the playing field. Both are among 17 regional high-school seniors named National Merit Scholarship semifinalists today by the National Merit Scholarship Corp.
GPS led the area with five semifinalists. In addition to the Baxter sisters, the number includes Phoebe Warren, Isabella Cornea and Rebecca Torrence.
"These five young women have excelled in all areas of a GPS education, in the fine arts, in athletics and in leadership roles," said Autumn Graves, GPS head of school. "In partnership with their families, we are proud to have cultivated their strengths and nurtured their gifts."
The number of area semifinalists marks a significant decline from last year's 28. Semifinalists in prior years have numbered from 23 in 2014 to 45 in 2012.
Just three students from Hamilton County Schools scored high enough to be named semifinalists - Allycia Lee of Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences, Renee Schebler of STEM School of Chattanooga and Jared Azevedo from East Hamilton Middle-High School.
Schebler holds the distinction of being the first National Merit semifinalist from STEM School of Chattanooga, located at Chattanooga State Community College. She is a member of the second class of seniors at the Hamilton County school.
"Renee is one of the most outstanding students I've ever been around in terms of mathematical prowess during 20 years in education," said STEM Principal Tony Donen. "By the time she is done in STEM School, she will have earned a math minor from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She is already taking upper-level math courses on the college level."
The process of becoming a semifinalist begins during the junior year of high school when students take the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Students named semifinalists are the highest-scoring entrants in each state, a ranking that includes less than 1 percent of all U.S. high school seniors, according to the National Merit Scholarship Corp. This year, 16,000 seniors in the country qualified.
All National Merit semifinalists now have the opportunity to compete for $33 million in National Merit Scholarships to be awarded in spring 2017.
The Baxter sisters, daughters of Mary and Brian Baxter, also are talented musicians. Lori plays violin, piano and viola, performing in four ensembles along with regional and state-level orchestras. Leah plays clarinet and oboe and is involved in theatrical productions as both an actress and member of the tech crew.
Lori has a 4.0 grade-point average and Leah is on track to be valedictorian of her class with a 4.21. But even with such well-rounded extracurricular activities, the twins agree being National Merit Scholarship winners will help them in the college application process.
"It's a nice thing to stick on a résumé," says Lori of semifinalist status. "It's a leg up to get noticed by colleges."
Contact Susan Pierce at spierce@timesfreepress.com.