Four area graduates earn elite honor

By KELLY RICHARDSON

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YORK

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MEREDITH

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DAO

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CHADWICK

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krichardson@thenewsenterprise.com

HARDIN COUNTY — Four area high school graduates received National Merit Scholarships sponsored by the colleges and universities they plan to attend.

Alex Meredith, a Central Hardin High School graduate, plans to attend the University of Louisville to pursue a degree in engineering. Meredith received a full ride from U of L for being a National Merit finalist, along with the smaller National Merit Scholarship, financed by U of L.

Students move through the National Merit Scholar program, by becoming a semifinalist, a finalist and a scholarship winner. The program reviews standardized test scores, resumes and essays from the students. Students can receive scholarships sponsored by the program itself, corporate-sponsored scholarships and school-sponsored scholarships.

Meredith said he was “thrilled” with the scholarship, knowing he wouldn’t have to worry about college expenses.

April York, another Central graduate, will have her full tuition paid at Transylvania University in Lexington for being a finalist plus receive $5,000 from the school-sponsored National Merit Scholarship.

York plansto carry a double major in math and English and a minor in education and music. She liked Transylvania for its small size, among other things.

“I’m a small-town girl, I’m from Glendale, I like small communities,” she said.

Will Chadwick, a John Hardin High School graduate, received tuition-and-a-half to attend Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He plans to study genetic engineering.

Chadwick said he chose Brigham Young because he knew it was a good school with high-caliber students.

Chadwick said it was exciting to see his work in high school earn the scholarship money.

“It’s good to see the fruits of those efforts,” he said.

Angela Dao, a graduate of Elizabethtown High School and the Carol Martin Gatton Academy for Math and Science in Kentucky, received a yearly $2,000 school-sponsored National Merit Scholarship to attend Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. Dao plans to study medicine.

“I was extremely excited,” Dao said. “I was pretty ecstatic.”

Kelly Richardson can be reached at (270) 505-1747.