Brown, Fergen, and Lee all in running to become finalists

Less than 1 percent of all high school seniors in this country hold the distinction of being a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist. It’s a prestigious honor, there’s no doubt about that.

The Gilbert High School Class of 2025 is represented in that group. But not just once, and not just twice.

Yes, our current senior class has — count ‘em — three National Merit Scholar Semifinalists!

We are so excited and proud to inform all of you that students Isaac Brown, Ashton Fergen, and Nathan Lee have all been named as national semifinalists. They learned of their advancement in mid-September.

“Ashton, Isaac, and Nathan have each worked hard to earn this high honor,” GHS Principal Cindy Bassett said. “These GHS seniors take academic classes that challenge them and they seek opportunities to learn at the highest level. We are all proud of them!”

National Merit Scholar Finalists will be announced in February. A year ago, then GHS senior Alice Zhang reached finalist status.

Brown, Fergen, and Lee all reached the semifinal round on the strength of their performances on the PSAT test a year ago. All three scored between a 1,430 and 1,460; a perfect score is 1,520.

To become a finalist, students must submit an application and essay, and also score well on either the ACT or SAT. The trio scored between a 33 and 35 on the ACT. Lee also took the SAT and scored a 1,550 out of a possible 1,600.

All three say becoming a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist is key in their pursuits of college scholarships, and becoming a finalist would be a significant boon.

“If I become a finalist, Iowa State gives a full tuition scholarship, so that would be great,” Fergen said.

“It also helps you if you are applying to some of those top 20 schools,” Brown said.

Brown says his current plan is to major in engineering and then potentially earn a master’s degree in finance. He’s looking at a number of out of state colleges, including USC, Texas A&M, and Rice.

Lee intends to go the science route in college. He envisions potentially majoring in molecular or cellular biology. He’s also interested in USC, as well as Michigan as a potential landing spot.

Fergen is undecided on a potential major.

Congratulations to these three hard-working seniors. We’ll all be rooting for you as you attempt to become National Merit Scholar Finalists.