Because she scored exceptionally high on the PSAT her junior year, Avery Hung, an FUHS senior, has qualified as a National Merit Scholarship semi-finalist.
The PSAT serves two purposes. Sophomores can take the PSAT in October as a practice test for the SAT. Juniors who take the test also are eligible for the National Merit awards if they score high enough.
According to the College Board, becoming a semifinalist puts Hung in a pool of less than 1% of high school seniors in the United States.
The National Merit Scholarship program is a nationwide competition where students must score within a certain threshold on the PSAT. California, for instance, semifinalists must score above a 221 to qualify for the scholarship.
Hung says she was successful because she has a knack for standardized testing.
“I took the PSAT my sophomore year, and I’ve always been really good at churning out the answers they ask for on standardized tests,” Hung said. “So I was hoping that I would be able to qualify this year because I was only a couple of points off last year.”
Next, Hung will need to fill out an application and complete an essay to be eligible for scholarship money.
Because many colleges no longer require the SAT for admission, fewer students are taking the PSAT. However, juniors should know that a good PSAT score can mean scholarship opportunities. Forty FUHS juniors will take the PSAT on Oct. 14 in the staff cafeteria.
Gallery 201 to host alumni show on Friday
Friday is FUHS’s annual Alumni Art show. The theme this year is “Wonder and Whimsy.” It features around 26 Alumni artists and Almost Alumni art students varying in skills and age. (Top) 3D Design and Photography teacher Jason Hess uses a projector to trace “Almost Alumni” on the gallery wall. (Left) FUHS graduate Nicole Abanador’s 3D artwork. Abanador, class of 2011, currently works at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. (Right) FUHS graduate Kyrie Varieur’s photo, titled “Chew on this”. Varieur, class of 2021, is attending UC Irvine and pursuing a B.S. in Cognitive Science. (Evelyn Ishikawa)
BADE Extreme Scars competition
BADE students held a friendly competition Tuesday recreating scar makeup based on South African SFX makeup artist Mathew Howard-Tripp’s work. The photos were sent to Howard-Tripp, who agreed to judge and choose a winner in the coming weeks. (Top Left) Senior Lilly Willis working on senior Nova Ramirez’s scar. Willis applied Rigid Collodion, a liquid that tightens skin to make a realistic scar look. (Bottom Left) Seniors Nicholas Kimoto and Jacqueline Perez applying makeup to Isaac Macias. (Right) Junior Mia Arevelo showing off her team’s final product (Photos by Mackenzie Mauldin and Sammy Howell).
Students donate blood
A Red Cross worker checks on senior Eddie Burton who donated 180 mL of red blood cells Wednesday in the staff cafeteria. Burton’s donation can help two cancer patients with life-saving treatments. About 90 students signed up to donate, but the Red Cross was only able to process 42 donors. ASB member Shanelle Thompson hopes that ASB and the Red Cross can organize the spring blood drive to accommodate more people.
