Westfield Education Board Celebrates Student in National Awards Semifinals
The Westfield Board of Education recently recognized a talented student for her remarkable academic achievement. At a meeting held on October 14, the board celebrated Grace Matus, a senior at Westfield High School, for being selected as a semifinalist in the National Merit Scholarship Program.
National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist
Grace Matus advanced from a pool of over 1.3 million students representing approximately 20,000 high schools across the United States. Her qualification stemmed from her performance on the 2024 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). The evaluation process involves a specific calculation based on test scores: the reading and writing scores are doubled, and the math score is added, followed by dividing the total by ten.
During the recognition speech, Board President Robert Benacchio expressed pride in honoring Matus. He emphasized, “Grace is among more than 16,000 academically talented high school seniors nationwide who were named semifinalists in this prestigious program.” This achievement highlights that these students represent less than one percent of high school students in the country.
Moving Forward to the Finalist Round
As semifinalists, these students now have the opportunity to advance to the finalist stage by meeting specific academic criteria and submitting scholarship applications sanctioned by their schools. The selection process for finalists will consider various factors:
- Academic record
- Extracurricular activities
- Leadership skills
- Personal essay
- SAT or ACT scores
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) anticipates that over 15,000 semifinalists will progress to this next level. Out of those, approximately half will be awarded one of three types of scholarships amounting to $26 million in total funding. Award winners will be selected based on their skills, achievements, and potential and will be notified in February of the following year.
Commended Students Recognized
In addition to Grace Matus, the Westfield Board of Education acknowledged a group of 30 students from Westfield High School who were named Commended Students in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program. This commendation places them among the top 50,000 entrants in the country. The honored students include:
- Anya R. Ausiello
- Emma Blaustein
- Christian Buonopane
- Owen Callahan
- Ethan Cha
- Ava Contract
- William Crozier
- Deven Davies
- Jacob W. Dickey
- Seven C. Drake
- Luke Fitzgerald
- Leo J. Goldman
- Kyle Goldstein
- Ana Belle Lomaka
- Benjamin L. Vons
- Flynn A. Martin
- Mia C. Nuzzo
- Kai Patel
- Neeva Patel
- Kevin Reynders
- Sophia Rodkin
- Connor Smith
- William Song
- Chloe Spatz
- Matthew W. Swaminathan
- Kingston B. Warr
- Logan Welsh
- Cecilia Wiggins
- Anna G. Zadrozny
- Elliott Zhu
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation operates as an independent nonprofit organization. Established in 1955, its mission focuses on implementing a nationwide merit-based scholarship program. Funded by NMSC’s own resources and supported by 300 businesses, educational institutions, and private donors, it remains a significant initiative in promoting academic excellence.
