Jesuit has most National Merit Scholars in state

by Kim Roberts

By Kim Roberts
Clarion Herald

Jesuit High School recently announced that its Class of 2025 garnered 27 National Merit semifinalists, along with 12 Commended scholars, the highest number of qualifying students of any school in Louisiana for this year’s program.

In fact, Jesuit’s 27 National Merit semifinalists represented roughly 10% of the entire state’s honorees.

“The achievement of these Blue Jays speaks to their self-discipline, perseverance and dedication to their academic formation,” said Jesuit principal Jeremy Reuther.

More than 16,000 students who score high on the SAT – a feat achieved by less than 1% of the nation’s high school graduating seniors – qualify as semifinalists. Only semifinalists have an opportunity to advance in the competition for Merit Scholarship awards. The National Merit Scholarship program notifies semifinalists of their standing and sends scholarship application materials to them through their respective high schools.

A semifinalist must fulfill several additional requirements and advance to the finalist level of the competition before being considered for a National Merit Scholarship. About 95% (more than 15,000) of the semifinalists are expected to become finalists and receive a Certificate of Merit attesting to their distinguished performance in the competition.

“I am honored to work with our faculty who truly excel at nourishing the gifts of our students, and I am so proud of these students who work together, as iron sharpens iron, to relentlessly pursue God’s greater glory,” Reuther said.

According to Reuther, Jesuit fosters a culture of high accountability with its students, and he said the students always rise to the occasion.

“Jesuit’s rigorous, classically grounded curriculum features multiple academic programs which ensure that students receive the level of academic challenge that is appropriate for them,” he said. “Our teachers also provide targeted practice in English and math at each level to help students reach their academic goals.”

Over the years, Jesuit has consistently performed better than average in the National Merit Scholarship Program. The Class of 2004 had 54 semifinalists.

“Quite simply, the young men at our school put the work in,” Reuther said. “Our teachers know how to motivate the students to do their best work. There was also a new digital testing format this year, and our faculty worked with students to practice in this format.”

Jesuit’s National Merit semifinalists included the following students: Lenox Bacerra, Zachary Becker, Andrew Cavallino, Leo Congeni, Peter Connolly, Alex Darcey, William Degenhart Jr., Andrew Duncan, Salvatore Esola, Travis Fish, Nathan Flynn, Scott Harper, Carter Jennings, Klein Konrad, Jude LaCour, Jackson Lago, Ethan Lapeze, Joseph Pourciau, Aadil Rab, Jack Reiss, Samuel Schlafer, John Schoenbrun, Jackson Sober, Vaughn Taylor, Christian Thomas, Aidan Wang and Grayson Wise.

Adding to Jesuit’s SAT accolades are the achievements of five students who scored a perfect 36 on the ACT test to date. Those seniors are Kacey Cognevich, Leo Congeni, Salvatore Esola, Carter Jennings and Samuel Schlafer.

“Jesuit has always been a school where students are celebrated for their intellectual gifts and encouraged to direct their gifts in service to God and others,” Reuther said. “I am very proud of our students and faculty for their commitment to excellence.”

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