Carroll Newsroom /

Both Carroll High School seniors who were named National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists in September 2020 have earned the distinction of National Merit Scholarship Finalist for the Class of 2021.  The College Board selected Cameron Neidhard (Riverside resident, St. Helen School alumnus) and Josephine Rose (Xenia resident, St. Luke School alumna) based on their outstanding scores on the 2019 PSAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualification Test. 

According to the College Board, approximately 1.5 million students take the PSAT in their junior year of high school. Of these juniors, about 16,000 students (approximately 1%) qualify as Semifinalists. This group is narrowed down to 15,000 who become Finalists. Of this group, about 8,000 are awarded scholarships. 

“We are so proud that our two previously announced Semifinalists Cameron Neidhard and Josie Rose have now been named Finalists for the National Merit Scholarship award," Dean of Academics Jill Kilby said.  “To have two students place in the top 1% in a single year is a great accomplishment.   Their achievement is a testament to their hard work, supportive families, and excellent preparation from teachers not only in high school, but in grade school as well!”

Cameron plans to pursue a degree in either biomedical engineering or neuroscience to become a neurosurgeon.  His advice to younger students is, “Make sure to utilize every opportunity that comes your way, even if the chances for success are against you. With that, you can learn quite a lot even if you do not succeed.”

Josie plans to study physics in college and research elementary particles.  Her advice to younger students is, “Make peace with yourself that you can’t always do everything 1oo percent and embrace being bad at new things.  The more you try to impress people, the less you really impress them.”

Dating back to the Class of 2011, 24 Carroll High School students have earned the distinction of National Merit Scholarship Finalist.