Nathan is the son of Keith and Joyce Wagner of Raymore, Missouri and
attends St. Matthew Lutheran Church. Nathan is a member of the National Honor
Society and plays Basketball and Tennis. He is also a member of 4-H where he
competes at the National level in Archery. In the fall, Nathan plans to attend
Texas A&M University.
About 1.5 million juniors in more than 22,000 high schools
entered the 2017 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2015
Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which
served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of
Semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors,
includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. The number of
Semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the
national total of graduating seniors.
To become a Finalist, Nathan, along with Lutheran High
School, submitted a detailed scholarship application, providing
information about his academic record, participation in school and community
activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, and honors and awards received.
A Semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school,
be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn
SAT® scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying
test.
From the approximately 16,000 Semifinalists, about 15,000
advance to the Finalist level. 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.
Three types of National Merit Scholarships will be offered
in the spring of 2017. Every Finalist will compete for one of 2,500 National
Merit® $2500 Scholarships that will be awarded on a state-representational
basis. About 1,000 corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards will be
provided by approximately 250 corporations and business organizations for
Finalists who meet specified criteria. In addition, about 190 colleges and universities
are expected to finance some 3,900 college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards
for Finalists who will attend the sponsor institution.
National Merit Scholarship winners of 2017 will be
announced in four nationwide news releases beginning in April and concluding in
July. These scholarship recipients will join more than 315,000 other
distinguished young people who have earned the Merit Scholar title.
Lutheran High School of Kansas City commends Nathan on this
outstanding achievement. – To God Be the Glory!