National Merit Semifinalists at Great Hearts Announced

Officials of National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) recently announced the names of more than 16,000 Semifinalists in the 72nd annual National Merit Scholarship Program. We are pleased to introduce nine exceptional scholars from Great Hearts academies who qualified for this round of the national program. Over 1.2 million juniors in about 20,000 high schools entered the 2027 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2025 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state.

Great Hearts Arlington:

Kaleb Iida is a senior at Great Hearts Arlington and hopes to attend Rice University to study aerospace and mechanical engineering. He was involved in Non Nobis Solum/Service Society when it was first formed in the 2024-2025 school year before serving as an officer starting in his junior year. He has also served in the yearbook committee, homecoming committee, and prom committee. Now in his senior year, he serves as a consul for House Alexandria. “My favorite among these are serving as an officer for the service society because I enjoy seeing everyone’s enthusiasm to help their community and working as an editor for the yearbook committee because it was a year-long journey filled with creativity and laughter,” he shared. “The thing I value most about my time at Great Hearts Arlington is my growth as a person.”

Chandler Preparatory Academy:

Alexander (Alex) Bessett is a high achieving scholar at Chandler Prep. In addition to his academic success, he is incredibly involved in the school’s community. He serves as a Latin and Math peer tutor, a mentor, a house captain, and serves on the Titan Leadership Council. In addition, Bassett sings in Schola Cantorum, the honors choir, and in the men’s choir, is a two-sport athlete competing in varsity swim and varsity soccer and was a Chandler Prep representative to Arizona Boys State and to the Hugh O’Brian Youth (HOBY) Leadership Conference. Outside of school, Bassett is a lifeguard for the City of Chandler, has provided Latin tutoring, and enjoys reading, science fiction, classical music, and art. He is exploring several college options and considering many possible STEM majors and careers. According to his college counselor, he is an integral member of the Chandler Prep community and will be a tremendous asset to the college he attends.

Yubin Ha is very involved in both her local community and school community at Chandler Prep. She has been a mentor to the younger students at her school since she was a sophomore, and her contribution to the Chandler Prep Newspaper and School Orchestra shows her commitment to help build the community there. Ha does all of this while also working a part-time job outside of school. She is still early on in her college application process and applying to a wide range of schools across the United States.

Cicero Preparatory Academy:

Jake Ko is a senior at Cicero Prep and plans to major in engineering. While he has not yet decided which field to pursue, he is interested in nuclear, mechanical, biomedical, and biotechnology engineering. In basketball, he has earned MVP, first-team and second-team all-region, and two-time Defensive Player of the Year. Ko participated in the John Hopkins University Summer Engineering Program where he was a member of the 1st-place spaghetti bridge team with 30 kg net load. He also received the Arizona Certificate of High Achievement for scoring in the top 10% statewide on the state standardized assessment.

Glendale Preparatory Academy:

At Glendale Prep, Krish Patel is known as a student of remarkable curiosity and wide-ranging interests and has distinguished himself both inside and outside the classroom. Initially interested in pursuing mechanical engineering, he has been an integral member of the Robotics Team, which has competed at the World Championships for the past two years. Near the end of his junior year, however, his intellectual curiosity led him in a new direction as he discovered a passion for neuroscience and exploring how the brain shapes human thought and behavior. He has also founded a book club for students, faculty, and parents centered on personal development, psychology, and human behavior. Drawn to books that help people better understand themselves and improve their lives, he wanted to create an opportunity to share those ideas and conversations with the broader Glendale Prep community. He is also an avid Rubik’s Cube competitor, cricket player, and juggler, reflecting the curiosity, determination, and willingness to tackle new challenges that characterize him as a student.

Great Hearts Irving:

Jacques Chenault, a senior at Great Hearts Irving, has narrowed his college choices to Harvard, Rice, or Amherst to study economics. After being a part of the student senate for two years, he was president of Non Nobis Solum last year and serves as a council member this year. He worked with a sub-committee under the Parks and Recreation Department where they worked to create the first campground in Irving with another in the works. His other interests include singing in chamber choir and playing piano, taking lessons at a local fine arts school.

Also at Great Hearts Irving, Naithan Mathew is still debating between studying neuroscience or cognitive science. He said he would most likely attend the University of Texas at Dallas and then attend Harvard for medical school. According to Mathew, a big part of his leadership life is church. He has been an altar server for seven years, helping serve in the liturgy. He has also served as the secretary on the leadership team at his youth group for three years. At the school, he has been part of the senate for two years. “It was a fun opportunity,” he said. “Both serving the school and the students.” He is part of the Young Adult Action Committee (YAAC), the president and co-founder of the chamber choir, and for the last three years has been a part of the Greater Dallas Choral Society (GDCS), the most elite youth chorus in Dallas. Mathew has already completed two major research studies and is currently in the works of getting one of them published.

Great Hearts Online:

Great Hearts Online senior, Finneas Bradstreet forged a love of literature through seminar, that he hopes to build upon with the pursuit of a law degree. He hopes that future seniors can develop similar passions, and he hopes that the classics continue to perplex scholars, as they continue to perplex him. Finneas holds the strong belief that his SAT score came from rigor his coursework built within him, and he is ardent in his belief that this curriculum will only continue to bring out the rigor of the students who undertake it.

Scottsdale Preparatory Academy:

In addition to being a National Merit Semifinalist, Nila Kumara, a senior at Scottsdale Prep, also earned a perfect score of 36 on her ACT. Her interests are political science, public policy, classical studies, and civic engagement. Kumara’s accomplishments include earning a Congressional Scholastic Achievement Award, HOBY Leadership Arizona recognition, multiple National Latin and Spanish Exam Gold Medals, and the President’s Volunteer Service Award. She has also contributed more than 190 hours to the Scottsdale Public Library and continues to seek opportunities to connect her academic interests with meaningful service and leadership. At Scottsdale Prep, she serves as a Peer Mentor Lead, Speech & Debate board member, and Blue Crew officer while participating in Latin, choir, and three varsity sports.

According to NMSC, these academically talented high school seniors will now have an opportunity to continue in the competition for about 6,700 National Merit Scholarships worth approximately $24 million that will be offered next spring. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to become a Finalist. About 95 percent of the Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and approximately half of the Finalists will receive a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.

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Submit a student application to a Great Hearts Academy by visiting: https://www.greatheartsamerica.org/enroll/.