The National Merit Scholarship Program has granted two King students its prestigious National Merit $2500 Scholarship. Catie Harvey and Jack Zipper will receive the award, following in the footsteps of their peer Ben Persily ’23, who became the first King student to win the scholarship in 2023. The recognition puts Catie and Jack in a pool of less than 1% of high school seniors.

The contest began in the fall of 2022 when 1.3 million juniors from some 21,000 high schools entered the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2022 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test as an initial screen of program entrants. The demanding process continued, calling for essays, service, and academic excellence.

"I am so proud of Catie and Jack,” said Director of College Counseling Jessica Landis. “The scholarship underlines their outstanding academic and co-curricular achievements, and they both deserve this recognition." 

Both students expressed gratitude for the Landis’ support throughout the process.

“Being recognized on a national level like this is something I could have never dreamed of, and I am so grateful,” said Jack. “Ms. Landis was invaluable in counseling and supporting me and was very responsive whenever I had questions on essays and on my application. I am so grateful to her and King for all of the support.” 

Catie echoed Jack’s sentiments.

“I was very excited and honestly quite shocked to see that I won the scholarship,” said Catie, a King lifer. “Ms. Landis helped me tremendously throughout this entire process; I really couldn’t have done this without her support. Every teacher at King truly wants their students to succeed. I cannot thank them enough for all that they have given me. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to grow up here at King.”

Next fall, Catie plans to study economics, philosophy, history, and business at Columbia University, and Jack plans to study history, economics, Spanish, and political science at Dartmouth College. 

“I am so grateful for my four years at King,” said Jack. “Thanks to the highly educational curriculum, caring teachers, and an overall welcoming King community, I have advanced tremendously as a learner and matured as a person. This award is a testament to the great King community and how it was able to help me find success.”