A Columbus high school student was named the winner of a National Merit Scholarship on Wednesday.
Rachel Stanback, a senior at Columbus High School, was one of 2,900 students nationwide to receive the award. She plans to attend Samford University, where she will major in journalism and mass communication.
Stanback, a member of the high school”s first graduating International Baccalaureate class, attributed her success to her participation in the IB program, saying it forced her to push herself academically.
She is the daughter of Dr. John and Courtney Stanback.
R. Andrew LaFrance, of Starkville, also received a National Merit Scholarship. LaFrance, who attends Starkville High School, plans to attend Mississippi State University, where he will study video game design and computer programming.
He is the son of Robert and Linda LaFrance.
Other winners included the following seniors from the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science in Columbus: Ryan Sofoulis, of Biloxi; Aussie Warren, of Corinth; and Austin Ladner, of Diamondhead.
A total of 8,300 students will receive National Merit Scholarships totaling $35 million this year, with announcements for various levels of merit scholarships being rolled out every few months. Previous merit scholarships were awarded earlier this spring.
Nearly 1.5 million juniors from 22,000 high schools applied for the honor, with 16,000 semi-finalists being named last fall. Semi-finalists had to submit an additional application which judged them by an essay, academic record, recommendations, SAT scores, and extracurricular activities.
The next round of National Merit Scholarships will be announced on July 11.
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
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