CHARLOTTE — Charlotte Catholic High School seniors Jamison M. Cox, Alexander J. Denton, Christopher J. Hoefling, John P. Meehan II and Sophia A. Roper have been named National Merit Scholarship finalists.
Jamison Cox is a member of the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta Math Honor Society, and Rho Kappa Social Studies Honor Society. He earned his Eagle Scout Award and serves as Woodwind Captain in the CCHS Band. He also serves as a Student Ambassador at CCHS. Jamison is the son of Mitch and Lennie Cox of Charlotte.
Alex Denton 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 is active in the Young Democrats Club and serves as a camp counselor at Camp Gabe, a summer camp for elementary school children. Alex is the son of Brett and Natalie Denton of Charlotte.
Chris Hoefling is a member of the National Honor Society, Spanish National Honor Society, Rho Kappa, and Mu Alpha Theta. He competed on the speech and debate team for two years. He plays varsity baseball at CCHS and travel baseball, as well as CYO basketball and golf. He serves as an assistant coach for a local youth baseball association and as a student ambassador at CCHS. Chris is the son of Matt and Jennifer Hoefling of Charlotte.
Jack Meehan is a member of the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, and the Spanish National Honor Society. A lifelong swimmer, Jack is captain of the CCHS Swim and Dive team and holds six school records. He has been named an All-American, has competed successfully at Senior and Junior Nationals, and works as a lifeguard. He volunteers with Freedom School and at the Teen Mass at his church. Jack is the son of Dennis and Kristin Meehan of Charlotte.
Sophia Roper is a member of the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, and Rho Kappa. She is captain of the Science Olympiad team at CCHS, which consistently wins competition medals. In addition to her extensive STEM coursework, she plays tennis and is first chair and a section leader in the CCHS band. She has been selected for All District and All State Honor Bands in multiple years. She began her own charity, Greater Good Cookies, selling homemade cookies to donate money to causes she supports. She is the daughter of David Roper and Anne Bradley of Charlotte.
Nearly 1.6 million high school juniors from more than 22,000 high schools nationwide entered the 2020 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 outstanding 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 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 very rigorous, and scholarship winners are chosen based on their skills, abilities, extracurricular accomplishments, and potential for future success.
— Carolyn Kramer Tillman