Carina Galutia, Will Ehrhart, Eli Hall earn National merit semi-finalist honors
By Isaac Krueger
Each year, merely 16,000 of the highest-scoring students on the PSAT in the United States earn the title of a National Merit Semi-finalist. Owasso Highschool is proud to have three recipients this year. Seniors Carina Galutia, Will Earnhart and Eli Hall are members of this elite class of high school scholars. Their years of hard work, along with their incredibly brilliant minds, have helped them earn this accomplishment and open doors for their future academic endeavors.
These honors are extremely beneficial in the college application process: the title instantly improves college resumes, and scholarship opportunities ensue. These students are on their way to earning the National Merit title, which, if granted, is a guaranteed scholarship at almost every university across the country. With these implications, Senior Eli Hall was especially relieved and delighted when he got the news.
“It’s pretty awesome,” Hall remarks, “I didn’t know if I would get it because I was really close to the cutoff, but it gives me a lot more opportunities for college.”
Although the award is individually recognized, senior Carina Galutia acknowledges the importance of her teachers and family in her journey to this accomplishment. Her mother, a National Merit scholar herself, supported Carina throughout her academic process. She is also exceptionally thankful for all the teachers and Owasso faculty that have made this achievement possible.
“All my teachers, they’ve taught me so much. I really appreciate them. Shout out to Mrs. Zamor,” Galutia mentions with a smile.
But, after all, the students are the ones that ultimately work to make their goals achievable. Senior Will Earnahart was especially keen on becoming a National Merit Semi-finalist, and after many hours of studying and completing practice tests, he achieved his goal.
“This was one of my main goals in my high school career,” Earnhart admits, “I studied and focused and worked hard on giving myself the best chance at the highest score possible.”
Galutia, Earnhart and Hall worked, with the help of teachers and family, to represent Owasso High School as National Merit Semi-finalists. They are now presented with new opportunities for college, where they look to continue their future academic success.
