Stanton Students of the Week

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- 37 students from Duval County Public Schools were named as semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program. 32 of them attend Stanton College Preparatory School and that's where we found our Students of the Week.

It is a very big deal to be named a semifinalists and we caught up with 4 students from Stanton who worked hard for this honor.

"It's a really exciting thing because not many people in the country are National Merit Scholars. It really rewards you for all the hard work we've put in to high school," said Semifinalist SophieAnn Kivett.

All four students scored high on their PSAT's and are very involved in school activities. Andrew Hanna is the Senior Class President and he started a senior mentoring program called IGNITE. "It pairs a senior with a freshman in sort of a big brother big sister kind of role." 400 students showed up for the first meeting and he hopes IGNITE will continue after he graduates and will spread to other schools in the county.

SophieAnn Kivett is involved with Relay for Life. Rebekah Kitto is the Captain of the tennis team and on Business Leaders of Tomorrow. Tonya Herbert is also involved with Business Leaders of Tomorrow and the Spanish Club. "It really came as a surprise for me. I find it's a great honor and it shows how well Stanton is paying off," said Tonya.

As semifinalists these academically talented seniors have an opportunity to get scholarships and get into the college of their choice. "To be a National Merit Semifinalists is an honor and if you want to get into a really big name school, it's like a requirement," said Rebekah.

Almost all semifinalists (90%) will become finalists which means all 4 of these Stanton students can expect to become National Merit Scholars.

Stanton had more National Merit Semifinalists than any other high school in Florida and was 26th in the world.

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