Five Acadiana students were named National Merit Scholars, each receiving $2,500 and distinction few can boast.
They are among only 2,500 Merit Scholars nationwide 33 in Louisiana chosen from a talent pool of some 16,000 finalists in the 2021 scholarship program.
Four hail from Lafayette Parish: Oliver Craddock of Lafayette High; Arden Frantzen of Episcopal School of Acadiana; Rafael Hernandez of Teurlings Catholic High School; and Alaina Le of St. Thomas More Catholic High School.
A fifth, AnaLaysha Burgess-Collazo, is from Jeanerette and attends the Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts, a public residential high school in Natchitoches.
They were selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors, who appraised a substantial amount of information submitted by the finalists and their high schools: the academic record, including difficulty level of subjects studied and grades earned; scores from the Preliminary SAT/National
Two Lafayette High School seniors have been named candidates in the 2021 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program, one of the nation s highest honors for high school students, according to its website.
Patrick Chu and Oliver Craddock are candidates for the program, which selects students based on academic achievement, leadership qualities, strong character and community service. These gentlemen exude the mission of LHS and are deserving of this honor, Lafayette High Principal Rachel Brown said. I am thrilled that their hard work is being recognized on a national level.
Chu is the Lafayette Parish School System Student of the Year as well as president of the Youth and Government Club, Beta Club and the Mayor-President Youth Advisory Council. He plans to attend Yale University, majoring in ethics, politics and economics, according to a district release.