The independent student media site of West Linn High School

wlhsNOW

The independent student media site of West Linn High School

wlhsNOW

The independent student media site of West Linn High School

wlhsNOW

National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists represent West Linn’s Arts

West Linn’s vibrant arts program showed its true colors this year as a hotbed of potential when two students involved in the Arts qualified as National Merit Scholar semifinalists. The National Merit Scholarship is an annual academic competition based on scores from the PSAT.  Every year, 50,000 high-scores on the PSAT are selected by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation and about two thirds of those are commended for their academic promise.

The remaining third of the high-scores are the semi-finalists. Reed Sturtevant and Miranda James, seniors, qualified as semi-finalists in the National Merit Scholarship competition.  15,000 of the semi-finalists go on to be finalists and have the chance to win a $2,500 scholarship and the chance to receive a collegiate or corporate- sponsored scholarship.

Sturtevant, semifinalist, plays an active part in West Linn’s Drama program, and is also an intern at the Northwest Children’s Theatre in Portland.

“In order to really live [a play] and have it be real and in the moment, you have to really have good understanding of the play,” Sturtevant said. Sturtevant’s favorite classes are Independent Study Playwriting and Honors Law A. Sturtevant participates in the West Linn Choir program, as well. He wants to attend a college to study theatre and become an actor or a theatre educator.

James, semifinalist, is also involved in the arts at West Linn. She plays violin in the Orchestra and is a member of Young Advocates for Peace. Her favorite classes include AP English and Orchestra.

“All sorts of people inspire me. Really great teachers, like [Barbara] Murray, [Todd] Jones, and [Michael] Glane to name only a few have really impressed me,” James said.  James is interning as a courier at Providence Willamette Falls Hospital where she assists with patient discharge.

“I’m volunteering there because it’s something I’ve never done and it seemed like a great experience. I’m trying new things and working with people in a new way,” James said.

James wants to become a Fantasy Fiction author and is influenced by Terry Pratchett who has written the popular “Discworld” Fantasy Fiction Novels.

Sturtevant and James will be notified in February if they have been selected as National Merit Scholar Finalists.

Leave a Comment
Donate to wlhsNOW
$50
$500
Contributed
Our Goal

Your donation will support the student journalists of West Linn High School. Your contribution will allow us to continue to produce quality content by purchasing equipment, software, and continuing to host our website on School Newspapers Online (SNO).

More to Discover
About the Contributor
Charlie Craft, Arts and Culture Editor
Hand-delivering a golden owl to one of your heroes may seem like an impossible dream, but for Charlie Craft, senior, this is a dream come true. Craft’s favorite band, My Morning Jacket, announced a tour before his recent trip to Japan in the summer of 2012. Knowing the band has an obsession with owls and bears, he made it his personal goal to find an item to give to the band. While scouring various markets in Tokyo, Kobe and Osaka, Japan, Craft found the perfect golden owl. Craft was luckily able to obtain sound-check tickets where he met the singer, Jim James. After briefly talking, he handed James the owl and in return, received an owl of his own. Star-struck, he could do nothing but say “thank you.”

“Owls are my favorite animal,” Craft said, “Because they look funny and are silent killers.”

For now, Craft has to worry about repaying his parents for his Japan trip. Craft works at Bellagio’s Pizza where he is a self-proclaimed “Pizza Insider.”

“A Pizza Insider does everything short of delivering pizzas,” Craft said.

Being stuck in a terrible job is Craft's greatest fear, which is not the current case. Craft plans to work at Bellagio’s until college. He hopes to attend the University of Oregon, ideally majoring in media studies but he admits it could change at any moment.

The college search process has been “weighing down on” him for a while and Craft is ready to finalize his future plans. Until then, he plans on protecting his coveted owl from his three cats and golden retriever and also “loving” his cat Curry.

Donate to wlhsNOW
$50
$500
Contributed
Our Goal

Comments (0)

All wlhsNOW Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Activate Search
National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists represent West Linn’s Arts