Kirkwood School District Recognizes National Merit Students

The Kirkwood School District recognized 10 seniors who were named National Merit Semifinalists and National Merit Commended Students at the Board of Education Awards and Honors Celebration on Monday, January 5. High school juniors entered the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2024 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which served as an initial screen of program entrants.

Four KHS Seniors Named as National Merit Commended Students
Kirkwood High School seniors Yik Long Seth Chong, Adeline Kuhn, Mae Slagle, and Juliet Wegener were named National Merit Commended Students in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program.

They are among some 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Commended Students placed among the top 50,000 students who entered the 2026 competition.

Six Seniors Named as National Merit Semifinalists
Kirkwood High School seniors Althea Althauser, Carter Chen, Joseph Edwards, Jacob Hamlin, Emily Royalty and Sienna Staten were named as semifinalists in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program. They are among some 16,000 semifinalists announced nationwide. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state.

From the approximately 16,000 Semifinalists, more than 15,000 are expected to advance to the Finalist level, and in February, they will be notified of this designation. All National Merit Scholarship winners will be selected from this group of Finalists. Merit Scholar designees are selected on the basis of their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies.

Pictured left to right: Yik Long Seth Chong, Juliet Wegener, Adeline Kuhn, Sienna Staten, Althea Althauser, Carter Chen, Jacob Hamlin, Emily Royalty and Dr. Courtney Ford.

Not pictured: Joseph Edwards and Mae Slagle.