Schenevus Central School senior Meghan Gallagher has been named a Commended Student by the National Merit Scholarship program.
Gallagher is among 34,000 students nationwide who received this honor among the 1.6 million who took the PSAT exam during the 2015-16 school year.
The daughter of SUNY Oneonta science professors Hugh and Kelly Gallagher, Meghan said the distinction is a real honor.
‘I’m really excited — I didn’t expect it. But I’m really excited,” Gallagher said.
As a senior, Gallagher is looking at colleges and considering her next steps.
“I want to major in biomedical engineering,” Gallagher said. “I’ve always really loved science — I love biology, especially the genetics part of it, and also neuroscience.”
Schenevus Director of Guidance Kristen Shearer called Gallagher’s achievement “a huge honor.”
Commended Students are named on the basis of a nationally applied “selection index” score that may vary from year to year and is typically below the level required for participants to be named semifinalists in their respective states. Although Commended Students do not continue in the competition for National Merit Scholarships, some of these students do become candidates for scholarships sponsored by corporations and businesses.