Lemont’s Kinga Strzalka named National Merit Semifinalist; two are Commended

Lemont High School senior Kinga Strzalka earned National Merit Semifinalist honors thanks to her performance on the 2024 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), while two other students were cited with National Merit Commended Students distinction. 

Given to high school juniors, more than 1.3 million students took the PSAT/NMSQT in October 2024. 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 Nick Persak and Luke Rupert.

The scores compiled by Lemont High School’s three honorees ranked them among the top five percent of all U.S. students from the Class of 2026 who took the PSAT/NMSQT last year.

As a National Merit Semifinalist, Strzalka will continue in the competition for some of the approximately $26 million of National Merit Scholarships that will be offered in Spring 2026. 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 2026.

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); and Leonardo Rafacz ‘25 and Nora Thornber ‘25 (2024).

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 nearly 300 business organizations and higher education institutions that share its goals of honoring the nation’s scholastic champions and encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence.