Utah Catholic Schools students named National Merit Scholarship semi-finalists

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SALT LAKE CITY — Five Utah Catholic Schools seniors have been named semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship contest. Elijah Norman and Madilyne Beaudry of St. Joseph Catholic High School and Erin Chan, Aidan Mulligan and Olivia Young of Juan Diego Catholic High School are being recognized for this achievement. They are among nearly 200 Utahns chosen for this honor out of 16,000 applicants nationwide who will compete for 7,140 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $28 million cumulatively.

All five students said they are excited and honored to be chosen as semifinalists.

After graduation, Elijah is hoping to study mathematics and possibly computer science at the University of Michigan, while Georgetown University is Madilyne’s first choice; she plans to study international relations and diplomacy with a language focus on Arabic and Mandarin.

Erin wants to study architecture and engineering at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. Aidan hopes to be a chemical engineering student at the University of Notre Dame, though he has not yet been accepted. Similarly, Olivia does not yet know where she will attend university, but she plans to study aerospace or mechanical engineering.

Each of the five students has career plans after college. Elijah would like to have a career strongly related to math, such as an accountant, actuary or statistician. Madilyne wants to be an international human rights lawyer, promoting justice and conflict resolution internationally. Aidan plans to be a chemical engineer and is particularly interested in the battery industry, where he would love to design newer and better batteries to help in the switch to renewable energy to create a more sustainable world. Erin hopes to work on sustainable housing as an architect to provide people with homes that will not harm the environment. Olivia intends to become an aerospace engineer and work in research.

The National Merit Scholarship Program is an annual academic competition among high school students for recognition and college scholarships that began in 1955. Students enter the National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Finalists, about half of whom will receive Merit Scholarships, will be announced in February.