Spring Valley Academy is proud to announce that senior Kerstin Smith has now advanced as a 2013 Finalist from among the 1.5 million juniors in more than 22,000 high schools last year that entered the 2013 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2011 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) which served as an initial screen of program entrants. These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 8,300 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $32 million that will be offered this spring.  To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition.  Kerstin is part of the 90 percent of the Semifinalists that attained the Finalist standing, and more than half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title!

NMSC, a not-for-profit organization that operates with government assistance, was established in 1955 specifically to conduct the annual National Merit Scholarship Program.  Scholarships are underwritten by NMSC with its own funds and by approximately 440 business organizations and higher education institutions that share NMSC's goals of honoring the nation's scholastic champions and encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence.

Kerstin is the daughter of Brian and Claudia Smith of Centerville, Ohio, and plans to attend Washington Adventist University (WAU) in Washington, D.C. next fall.  Congratulations, Kerstin on this prestigious scholastic achievement!