LFA News

A total of 12 students at Lake Forest Academy were recently honored and recognized at Morning Meeting on Sept. 15. Five students were named Semifinalists in the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program and seven students were recently honored by the College Board’s recognition programs.

Officials of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced the names of over 16,000 Semifinalists from across the country that include five LFA students.

Members of the Class of 2024 that were named Semifinalists include:

• Luke Feltzin
• Theresa Fu
• Henry Gold
• Toby Nelson
• Jamie Pruett

These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,250 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $28 million that will be offered next spring. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship® award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. About 95 percent of the Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and about half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar® title.

LFA’s five Semifinalists follow seven in the Class of 2023, two in the Class of 2022, three in 2021 and five in the Class of 2020.

National Merit Scholarship winners of 2024 will be announced in four nationwide news releases beginning in April and concluding in July. These scholarship recipients will join nearly 368,000 other distinguished young people who have earned the Merit Scholar title.

Additionally, seven students were recently honored by the College Board’s recognition programs for outstanding academic achievements in school and on the PSAT/NMSQT®, PSAT™ 10, and/or AP® Exams.

The students at Lake Forest Academy honored with the National Hispanic Recognition Award are:

• Elise Brandt ’25
• Jose Onofre ’24
• Lukacs Khorzad ’25
• Xitlali Ocote-Arellano ’25
• Ysa Sanchez ’25

The students honored with the National African American Recognition Award are:

• Kendall Scales ’24
• Yusef Primus ’25

College Board's four recognition programs – National African American Recognition Program, National Hispanic Recognition Program, National Indigenous Recognition Program and National Rural and Small Town Recognition Program – award academic honors to underrepresented students.

Students who take eligible administrations of the PSAT/NMSQT, PSAT 10, or AP Exams will be considered for awards. Students must also identify as African American/Black, Hispanic/Latinx, Indigenous, or attend high school in a rural area or small town. This is not a scholarship program; however, students can include this academic honor in their college and scholarship applications.

Among the requirements for the award are at least a 3.5 GPA or higher at the time the application is submitted, a permanent address in the United States, a United States Territory, US military base or attend a DoDEA school, must identify as African American, Hispanic American, Indigenous, or attend high school in a rural area or small town, and must have taken the PSAT 10 in Spring 2022 OR the PSAT/NMSQT in Fall 2022 OR at least two distinct AP exams in 8th, 9th or 10th grade. Additionally, sophomores and juniors are score eligible if they score in the top 10% on the PSAT/NMSQT or PSAT 10 within the program by state in the eligible exam periods. Sophomores and juniors are also score eligible if they score a three or higher on two or more distinct AP Exams in the eligible exam periods.