Four Lemont students earn National Merit Commended Student accolades

Four Lemont High School seniors earned National Merit Commended Student designation thanks to their performance on the 2025 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). 

Given to high school juniors, more than 1.2 million students took the PSAT/NMSQT in October 2025. Approximately 16,000 students are named as National Merit Scholar Semifinalists, and roughly 34,000 students are designated as Commended Students. Of those named as National Merit Semifinalists, approximately 95 percent attain Finalist standing, and around half of those earn a National Merit Scholarship and receive Merit Scholar accolades.

The students receiving National Merit Commended Students accolades include Adam Dunkin, Benjamin Petri, Ishan Samani and Haley Young.

The scores compiled by Lemont High School’s honorees ranked them among the top five percent of all U.S. students from the Class of 2027 who took the PSAT/NMSQT last year.

Students chosen as National Merit Semifinalists will continue in the competition for some of the approximately $24 million of National Merit Scholarships that will be offered in Spring 2027. To be considered for a National Merit Scholarship, semifinalists and their high schools must submit a detailed scholarship application.

The nationwide pool of National Merit Semifinalists includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. The number of National Merit Semifinalists is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors. Semifinalists will learn if they become National Merit Scholar Finalists in February 2027.

Lemont’s Class of 2016 included a school record three National Merit Semifinalists, while the Class of 2018 set a school record for National Merit honorees (the total of National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists and National Merit Commended Students) with 16 students recognized as National Merit Commended Students. The Class of 2024 featured 11 total honorees, while the Class of 2019 and Class of 2025 each had nine students recognized. Lemont has had as many as nine National Merit honorees in a single year on four occasions, and multiple semifinalists eight times.

Lemont’s National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists have included David Ketchum ‘93 and Bonnie Paris ‘93 (1992); Andrew Nogal ‘02 and John Shilkaitis ‘02 (2001); Monica Pachl-Moran ‘04 (2003); Jessica DeArcangelis ‘09 and Michael Fischer ‘09 (2008); Therese Castrogiovanni ‘11 and Rita Kuseliauskas ‘11 (2010); Kim Gannon ‘13 (2012); Alexandra Albrecht ‘14 (2013); Diana Vera ‘15 (2014); Spenser Bailey ‘16, Taylor Campos ‘16 and Misbah Chagpar ‘16 (2015); Aubrey Molitor ‘20 and Taylor Shimkus ‘20 (2019); Molly Thornber ‘22 and Isabella Wilton ‘22 (2021); Aashka Trivedi ‘23 (2022); Maximillian Schuette ‘24 and Nora Zhou ‘24 (2023); Leonardo Rafacz ‘25 and Nora Thornber ‘25 (2024); and Kinga Strzalka ‘26 (2025).

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation, a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance, was established in 1955. Its scholarships are underwritten by its own funds and more than 250 business organizations and higher education institutions that share its goals of honoring the nation’s scholastic champions and encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence.