St. Mary’s Ryken High School is proud to announce that three students in the Class of 2012 have been named Commended Students in the National Merit Scholarship Program and one student has been named a Semifinalist.

Alexander J. Wyvill, of Hollywood, Md., earned Semifinalist status in the National Merit Scholarship Program, meaning he has placed among the top 1% of more than 1.5 million high school students who entered the competition by taking the PSAT (Preliminary SAT)/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

Students earning Commended status are among the top 5% of those who participate in the competition. Commended students are Nathan Luke of Leonardtown, Md.; Jennifer Pietsch of Leonardtown, Md.; and Amanda Rankin of Brandywine, Md.

Senior Ayrton Starks of Waldorf, Md., has been named an Outstanding Participant in the National Achievement Scholarship Program. She scored in the top 3% of more than 160,000 Black Americans who requested consideration when they took the PSAT (Preliminary SAT)/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

Michael Booz of Callaway, Md., has been recognized as a Scholar in the National Hispanic Recognition Program (NHRP).  This honor is bestowed on approximately 2-3% of students who took the PSAT and identified themselves as Hispanic/Latino, and have a GPA of 3.5 or higher.

Twenty-two students were named Advanced Placement (AP) Scholars, granted to students who receive scores of 3 or higher on three or more AP exams; four were named AP Scholars with Honor, granted to students who receive an average score of at least 3.25 on all AP exams taken; seven students were named AP Scholars with Distinction, granted to students who receive an average score of at least 3.5 on all AP exams taken. Approximately 17% of high school students worldwide who participate in the AP program, merit the recognition of AP Scholar. (Please see following page for student names.)

St. Mary’s Ryken is a Catholic, coeducational, college preparatory school community operated under the Xaverian Brothers’ sponsorship dedicated to academic excellence and individualized student growth. Each year, approximately 99% of graduates go on to college and the Class of 2011 earned $12.8 million in scholarship

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