Abigail Cudabac, Upper School Academic Dean, explains a recent moment of celebration at Charlotte Latin School: “We chose to recognize all of our National Merit Semifinalists and Commended students in an Upper School community meeting recently because the kind of performance they achieved on the PSAT they took last fall is rare and builds on years of academic development in the same way that the athletic performance involved in winning the conference or state championship or breaking a school record is rare and builds on years of athletic development,” she says. “We should celebrate all of these students among their peers.”

First to receive plaudits in a crowded Thies Auditorium were 12 members of the senior class, already named National Merit Semifinalists. They’re continuing in the competition for Finalist status and scholarships, to be awarded next spring: Avery Bly, Luca Bravo, June Budzichowski, Emily Cao, Connor Cruz, Kabir Nawaz, Jackie Rao, Kelsey Sciacca, Isabel Yang, Claire Zhang, Lynn Zhao, and Ryan Zhou.

Eighteen other members of the class of 2026, who all did exceptionally well on the October 2024 PSAT, received certificates as Commended Students in the National Merit Scholarship Program. That status signifies that they achieved PSAT scores that yielded a National Merit Selection Index of 210 or higher. The Upper School student body cheered the accomplishments of Max Bai, Ananya Banerjee, Natalie Berman, Hannah Blackhall, Jolin Cheng, Peter DiSciullo, Eloise Eirich, Samora Elam, Evelyn Haggstrom, Watts Humphrey, Webb Kiser, Sophia Oh, Divija Rao, Peyton Samii, Wesley Seagraves, Raaj Thakur, David Vaughn, and Angelina Yang.

“Only 50,000 top scorers nationwide become either Semifinalists or Commended Students, so congratulations are indeed in order!” Cudabac adds. “Unsurprisingly, all of those who received a National Merit recognition are multifaceted individuals who contribute to this community in a variety of ways, not simply test-taking whiz kids. We are grateful that they're using all of their talents and honing their skills here at Charlotte Latin.”