Three KHS Seniors Named National Merit Semifinalists
Three Kings High School students were named Wednesday, September 14, 2022, as semifinalists in the 2023 National Merit Scholarship Program.
Aaron Groff, Zach Spring, and Sam Webster are among the 16,000 semifinalists in the 68th annual National Merit Scholarship Program competition, officials announced on Wednesday.
These academically talented high school seniors now have an opportunity to continue in the competition for 7,250 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $28 million that will be offered next spring. The three are now among a nationwide pool of Semifinalists who represent less than one percent of high school seniors in the U.S.
In order to enter the 2023 National Merit Scholarship Program, the then-high school juniors took the 2021 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The Semifinalists include the highest-scoring entrants in each state.
To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of competition. Of the over 16,000 Semifinalists, about 95 percent are expected to attain finalist standing, and close to half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title, which will be announced in February 2023.
Aaron's proud parents are Janelle and Andrew Groff. He holds a GPA of 4.64. His future plans will include studying Chemical Engineering at one of the following secondary institutions; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Georgia Tech, Ohio State, or the University of Pennsylvania. Aaron is a member of the Kings Bowling Team, Kings Math Team, National Honor Society, and Spanish National Honor Society. When he isn’t at school, hanging out with friends, or studying, Aaron works as a lifeguard with Swim Safe.
Zach is the son of Jola and Dan Spring. His current GPA is 4.51. Zach is deciding upon Carnegie Mellon, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Illinois, or Ohio State to study Computer Science. He is a member of the Kings Tennis Team, National Honor Society, and Spanish National Honor Society. Zach also has his own social media content creation business, and he is a Merchandise Supervisor at Kings Island.
Jennifer and Lyle Webster are Sam’s parents. He is still deciding between Stanford University, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Illinois, and Ohio State to study Computer Science. He has a current GPA of 4.70. Sam is a member of the Kings Soccer Team, Kings Math Team, National Honor Society, and Spanish National Honor Society. He also works at Kings Island as a Lifeguard.
Congratulations to Aaron, Zach, and Sam! You make Kings proud!