CHARLOTTE — Charlotte Catholic High School seniors John Holden (Jack) Kelly, Alyssa Marie Nelson and Andrew Le Nguyen have been named National Merit Scholarship finalists.
Kelly is a member of the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta Math Honor Society and Rho Kappa Social Studies Honor Society. He also is a member of the Latin Honor Society and the National Speech and Debate Honor Society. He has served as a student ambassador at CCHS, as a debate team captain, and on the MACS Superintendent’s Student Advisory Board. He has interned in the Clemson University Bioengineering Department and attended the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Summer Program at N.C. State. He is an Eagle Scout and practices Tae Kwon Do. He is the son of Christopher and Steffan Kelly Charlotte.
Nelson is a member of the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta and Rho Kappa. She also is a member of the Latin Honor Society and has served as a coach for Girls On the Run. She has played tennis, run track, and cheered competitively at CCHS. She recently held a research apprenticeship at Winthrop University, where she assisted in the presentation of her research along with the professor for whom she worked. She is the daughter of Garret and Donna Nelson of Waxhaw.
Nguyen is a member of the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta and Rho Kappa. He also is a member of the Latin Honor Society. He has served as president of the Latin Club and as a group leader for faith formation. He has been a member of the CCHS wrestling team and led the Aerospace Engineering Club. He holds a black belt in martial arts. He is the son of Giang Van Nguyen and Thy Uyen Le of Charlotte.
Nearly 1.6 million high school juniors from more than 22,000 high schools nationwide entered the 2019 competition by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test last fall. Approximately 16,000 students qualified as semifinalists, representing less than 1 percent of all U.S. high school seniors.
From this group of students, approximately 15,000 finalists were named, and more than half of all finalists will receive either a Merit Scholarship or a Special Scholarship from a corporate sponsor. The winners will be announced between April and July. They will join more than 300,000 other distinguished students who have earned the National Merit Scholar title.
The National Merit Scholarship program was founded in 1955 to distinguish and honor academically talented American high school students and to encourage them to develop their talents and skills to the fullest. The competition is rigorous, and scholarship winners are chosen based on their skills, abilities, extracurricular accomplishments and potential for future success.
— Carolyn Tillman