Austin Howard Named as National Merit Semifinalist
Austin Howard, a senior at Leake Academy, was named semifinalist in the National Merit Scholarship Program. Austin was among 16,000 students chosen nationwide based on the preliminary SAT. More than 1.3 million students entered this year's competition. The semifinalists represent less than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors, according to the company that administers the program.
Semifinalists are competing for 8,200 scholarships that are worth a total of $33.9 million. To be chosen as a finalist, students must have a strong academic record, be endorsed by a school official, and earn SAT scores that confirm the high achievement on the PSAT. The semifinalist must also write an essay that accompanies an official application.
Austin is the son of Dr. and Mrs. Archie Howard of Forest. He is President of the Beta Club, Vice President of the Student Council, and on the Rebel football team. He represented Leake County last summer in the Central Electric Power Association Youth Leadership Conference.