Allison Beecher becomes Finalist in National Merit Scholarship program

Post date: May 01, 2015 7:29:16 PM

In March, Wells High School senior Allison Beecher was notified by WHS Principal Jim Daly that she had been selected a Finalist in the 60th Annual National Merit Scholarship Program administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation of Evanston Illinois.

From the 1.4 million high school juniors who took the program’s Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test or PSAT/NMSQT last fall, 15,000 were selected Finalists. By July, more than half of this remaining group will have received a National Merit Scholarship earning the title of Merit Scholar.

“I was very excited when I got the letter because scholarships are going to be one of my main modes of getting into college...” said Beecher. “Any scholarships that I can get is a really big thing for me. I know this is a very prestigious award. It’s a big honor.”

Beecher, an AP Art Student, is also a member of the WHS Chorus, Winter Guard Team, Indoor and Outdoor Track Team, and a member of the National Honor Society. She is also on the Odyssey of the Mind Team from Wells and will be attending the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals in May.

“She is a tremendous kid,” commented WHS Principal Daly about Beecher. “She is the best of the best at WHS! We are very proud of her.”

Beecher also had a minor role in WHS’s 2015 spring musical “South Pacific” and was the Principal Artistic Designer for the production.

Beecher says that she plans to attend Olivet Nazarene University in Illinois in the fall to study Spanish and Integral Studies.

The National Merit Scholarship Program is administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. It is a non-profit corporation established in 1955. Scholarship money awarded by the NMSC comes largely from corporate and college sponsorship. Since its founding 60 years ago, the NMSC has awarded 396,000 scholarships worth 1.5 billion.

Holding her certificate from the National Merit Scholarship is Allison Beecher