Community Corner

Whiz Kids: A Tip of the Hat to Three National Merit Scholarship Finalists From Eastside Catholic for Week of Feb. 23

Three Eastside Catholic School students are some of the top scholars in this prestigious program.

Each week, Sammamish Patch will seek suggestions from readers for individual kids, youth groups, teens, and even sports teams that wow us with their accomplishments.

This week, well, three bright high school students at Eastside Catholic School are receiving a tip of the hat. The reason: They're just pretty smart, active and involved students. They also tested very well to become National Merit Scholarship Finalists.

Congratulations from Sammamish Patch!

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Sammamish Patch Whiz Kids of the Week: Mercer Island resident Ben Boyle, Bellevue resident Matt Mahan and Mercer Island resident Michael Orehek

Whiz Kids' School:

Find out what's happening in Sammamish-Issaquahwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Whiz Kids' Accomplishment: Here's a statement from Eastside Catholic High School Principal Tom Lord:

“These three fine young men and outstanding scholars have been a tremendous asset to our school and examples of EC’s dedication to educating the whole student.

In addition to being highly intelligent, Ben is active in playing and coaching baseball and tutoring math; Matt is very actively involved in our Speech and Debate Team, where he is currently serving as Overall Team Captain, and currently serves as Associated Student Body Treasurer; Michael was awarded both the Outstanding Attorney and Outstanding Witness awards in the Washington State and District Mock Trial Competitions last year.  He was also awarded ECHS’ Scholar Athlete Award in both Varsity swimming and JV tennis as a junior.”

A note on how they became National Merit Scholarship Finalists: A spokeswoman for Eastside Catholic explained that there are 16,000 National Merit Semi-finalists, who scored in the top 1 percent on the PSAT.

To earn the title of finalist, a student  had to submit an essay, letters of recommendation and evidence of a rigorous course load, extra-curricular activities and other academic documents.

Editor's note: We want to hear about these amazing children and teens and select one each week as the Whiz Kid. Submit your nomination in our comment box below or email the information to brad.wong@patch.com. Be sure to include all of the following information:

  • Nominator's Name
  • Nominator's E-Mail
  • Whiz Kid's Name
  • Whiz Kid's Age
  • Whiz Kid's School
  • Whiz Kid's Accomplishment
  • Whiz Kid's Key to Awesomeness (what made him/her successful? Please include a 150-word description)

Just a gentle reminder: This is not a competition. This is just a nice community way to highlight young people in Sammamish - and especially those who inspire. Sammamish Patch will try and feature as many students as possible.


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