Columbia teens prove their merit

For the Columbia teens who have been awarded National Merit scholarships, some questions about how to pay for college or the viability of an out-of-state education were answered by filling in bubbles on a test they took two years ago.

Aadita Khatri and Josiah Bryan are among 2,500 high school seniors across the country who won $2,500 National Merit scholarships. A committee of college admissions officers reviews finalists from each state and awards the scholarships to those with the strongest combinations of accomplishments, skills and potential for success in rigorous college studies. Each of these scholarships are funded primarily by the National Merit Scholarship Corp., with help from corporate sponsors. Khatri and Bryan’s scholarships are both sponsored by the State Farm Companies Foundation.

For Khatri, the Preliminary SAT was just the beginning. Doing well on that exam gave him the confidence to do the same on standardized tests that followed during his junior year in high school.

At Rock Bridge High School, Khatri was a member of the National Honor Society and the Science Olympiad and he competed in speech and debate in the National Forensics League. He focused on science, an interest that started in childhood. This fall, he plans to study biology or another scientific field at Washington University in St. Louis.

“Doing well and winning the scholarship is a validation of all I’ve done in high school,” Khatri said.

When Bryan took the PSAT as a sophomore, he scored just below the National Merit cut-off for that year. He said he had heard that scores usually increase the second time around. His did just that.

“It’s an honor to be selected for something like that,” he said of the $2,500 Merit scholarship.

Bryan will attend MU in the fall and plans to major in mechanical engineering.

At Rock Bridge, Bryan was president of the German Honor Society and a member of National Honor Society and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He also played piano in the jazz ensemble. Although Bryan enjoys music, he is opting to study mechanical engineering because he says it offers more stable career options.

Rock Bridge graduates Leslie Easton, Aaron Bartelt, Paul Koch, Alex Martin and Maggy Rhein all received Merit Scholarships sponsored by their chosen schools. Hickman High School graduate Xiaoxi Liu received a scholarship from Northwestern University but could not be reached for an interview.

The amount awarded for college-sponsored scholarships varies from $500 to $2,000 annually for up to four years. National Merit finalists who receive these scholarships are selected by the institution at which they will attend. Nationwide, 116 private institutions and 85 public institutions sponsor scholarships through the National Merit program.

Unlike many students, Easton will not be overly burdened by the high costs of attending college when she begins classes at the University of Tulsa in the fall. Her success in the National Merit Scholarship Program resulted in a scholarship sponsored by the school and provides a lot of opportunities, she said.

“I’m basically going to college for free,” she said, adding that it’s “amazing that taking a test could do all that for you.”

Easton is interested in communications. She worked at her high school newspapers, both at the Columbia Independent School, where she spent her sophomore and junior years, and at Rock Bridge which she attended for her senior year.

She plans to major in speech pathology in college. Her interest in that subject stems from her interaction with a deaf cousin, she said.

For Bartelt, the National Merit scholarship was a ticket to go to an out-of-state school. His school of choice, Baylor University, provides full-tuition scholarships for National Merit finalists, making out-of-state tuition affordable, he said.

He wants to go to Baylor because it has a Christian background without being too small or strict, he said. Religion is important to Bartelt, who in high school was very involved in K-Life and youth groups through his church, The Crossing.

Bartelt was also impressed by Baylor’s “amazing” new science building, which he sees as being built just for him. He plans to study either biology or biochemistry, with the hope of later going to medical school.

Although he just graduated high school, Koch is already beginning scholarly work. He works at MU, doing research on nanotechnology uses in explosives.

Because of the scholarships he received as a result of his PSAT scores, Koch will be able to attend Texas A&M this fall. He wants to go there because it excels in chemical engineering.

At Rock Bridge, Koch was a member of the National Honor Society and the Spanish Honor Society and was involved in Key Club, a Kiwanis-based service organization. He was also a member of the track team, competing in hurdles events and cross-country races.

Martin, a Rock Bridge High School graduate, hopes to enter medical school and become a radiologist. To reach that goal, he will first study biochemistry at MU. He chose MU because of the number of scholarships he could receive. He received a $750 renewable scholarship because he is a National Merit Finalist.

Martin most anticipates “being able to study things that you’re interested in and being able to work alongside professors in research labs.”

While at Rock Bridge, Martin played for the club lacrosse team and was involved in Model United Nations.

Rhein enjoys photography and making jewelry. And though she is undecided on a college major, she is leaning toward channeling her creativity toward the visual arts, design or photography at MU.

“I really like to do it, it makes me happy and I really like to learn about it,” Rhein, a Rock Bridge graduate, said of the arts.

Rhein received a $1,000 renewable scholarship. The award comes from MU and National Merit funds.

During high school, Rhein was involved in the Global Issues Club. She chose MU because she likes Columbia and has lived here her entire life.

Rhein has spent the summer working, getting ready for the school and traveling to Australia with classmates and teachers from school.

Missourian reporters Kim Reishus, Nick Leonard and Alice Roach contributed to this article.