EAHS senior a National Merit Scholarship finalist
By Heather Ruenz
Editor
After what can be described as a whirlwind of events, a senior at Elkhorn Area High School was recently informed he’s a finalist in the National Merit Scholarship Program.
Philip Meersman, of Delavan, began the process by taking a preliminary qualifying test as a junior, along with approximately 1.6 million other students.
From that 1.6 million, the students with the highest scores – about 50,000 – qualify for the program. The students are then notified through their schools that they have qualified as either a commended student or semifinalist with semifinalists earning the highest scoring entrants in each state.
“Then I chose to apply to become a finalist which included taking the SAT, creating a profile, and submitting letters of recommendation and an essay,” Meersman said.
He was notified about two weeks ago he was a finalist, one of about 15,000 students to do so, or less than one percent of the initial number that began the process. About half of those students will be selected as Merit Scholarship award winners. They will be announced in the next few months.
Meersman, who has decided to further his education in mathematics, said he put the Merit Scholarship process out of his mind once he had submitted his application to become a finalist.
“I didn’t want to get my hopes up and not qualify so shelved it in the back of my mind. I was pleasantly surprised when I heard,” he said.
The two universities Meersman is most interested in as of now are the University of Kentucky and the University of Oklahoma, both of which are offering him a full scholarship should he choose one of them.
“They both have very nice honors colleges, which I’ve been accepted to and the University of Oklahoma has staff dedicated to the National Merit program as well as about 900 National Merit scholars enrolled in the school,” Meersman said.
His parents, Jonathan and Sarah Meersman, said Philip has always had a desire for knowledge.
“Even at a young age, teachers had a hard time keeping up with him. In high school, they really gave him the time he’s always desired, to further the conversation that’s not covered in class,” Sarah said.
Though they always knew Philip was smart, Jonathan and Sarah said it was when he was in 7th grade that they had proof.
“He took the ACT in 7th grade and it confirmed how smart we thought he was. Once you start ranking yourself nationally, that takes it to a whole new level,” Sarah said.
Jonathan and Sarah said they don’t believe they did anything spectacular as parents and give a lot of credit to the Elkhorn Area School District, which they transferred Philip to when he was in 4th grade.
“Elkhorn has exceeded our expectations in challenging Philip to the levels we knew he could reach. With all of our kids, we encouraged reading at a very young age and put in the time to read to them. Then, as they learned to read, they read to us,” Jonathan said.
“And we always tried to answer Philip’s questions, even if that meant spending time finding those answers,” Sarah added.
Leaving his mark
Philip’s parents said they are proud of their son and his accomplishments with the Merit Scholarship program, but it’s what he’s done here that is truly impressive.
“He founded the peer tutoring program, which I’m very proud of him for. I’m proud of all his accomplishments but with this program, he shares the love of learning that he has,” Jonathan said.
The program, Philip explained, began after a conversation he had with Mr. Cleveland, a teacher at the high school.
“It started with one student whose grades went up so Mr. Cleveland and I decided to expand it to help others. Now there are 20 tutors and about 50 kids we’re tutoring, across all grade levels,” Philip said.
He said students themselves, or their parents can request the tutoring.
“I have a knack for helping others and students are paired with tutors based off of what subjects they need help with,” Philip said.
“That will continue even after he leaves here, and that’s what’s so great about it,” Sarah said.
“Tutoring also lets me interact with younger students and that’s given me a different perspective. They usually do want help and they like learning,” Philip said.
Philip, during his time at Elkhorn Area High School, has also been a member of DECA, and on the boys varsity soccer team for the past three years, which was state runner-up last fall.
While it’s impossible to attribute Philip’s smarts to any one person, the Meersmans agree that some of it may have come from his grandma, Karen Kazlauskas.
“My mom is referred to as ‘Champma’ because she says she won everything, every contest. And she checks Philip at the door,” Sarah said.
Philip has two younger siblings, Leah and Jeffrey. He said they’ve both been supportive, “but try to one-up me, though it’s in a good way.”
He said in addition to his family, he also has a great support system at school.
“I have awesome, supportive friends and classmates. The high school is great in how they treat success and really want others to succeed,” Philip said.
Sarah said she and Jonathan aren’t surprised at the schools that have peaked Philip’s interest so far because he’s always wanted to go to college away from home.
“I love to meet new people and see news area of the country, so I’m looking forward to it,” Philip said with a smile.
For more information about the National Merit Scholarship Program visit www.nationalmerit.org.
