Meet the National Merit Semifinalist from North Phoenix Prep

Zander Luo, a senior at North Phoenix Prep, has qualified as a National Merit Semifinalist. He has been recognized as one of the highest scoring entrants of the PSAT, qualifying him for recognition in the National Merit Scholarship Program as a semifinalist of over 1.5 million entrants.

According to Sheila Conner, a college counselor at North Phoenix Prep, Luo, who is an accomplished pianist, avid hiker, and fisherman, plans to become an Aerospace Engineer. He is awaiting admission decisions from many competitive programs, but Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is his top choice.

“Luo has attended the North Phoenix campus since kindergarten and contributed to building our student body for all four years of high school on the Spirit Committee for Senate,” shared Conner. “He’s competed on our Track & Field and Soccer teams and served the local community at Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore and our Student Service Organization.”

He will be continuing on in the National Merit Scholarship competition with the chance to become a National Merit Finalist.

“It is a realistic goal for many Great Hearts juniors across our 13 prep academies to score in the top 1% of test takers in the state of Arizona during the October testing window each year,” said Great Hearts Director of College Counseling, Roslyn Fletcher. “We expose our high school students to the PSAT early by administering the official PSAT to all our 10th grade students across the Great Hearts network. National Merit Finalists often qualify for merit scholarships that can cover partial tuition up to full cost of attendance at select institutions across the country.”

Do you have a story or know of a story that you would like to see featured at Great Hearts? Please contact jason.moore@greathearts.org.