Mount Si National Merit Scholar semifinalist battles cancer
September 30, 2009
By Laura Geggel
Mount Si has record amount of National Merit Scholars
Mount Si High School will soon have eight more student photos on its National Merit wall of fame. Of the 351 seniors attending Mount Si, seven are commended students and one is a National Merit semifinalist.
Photo contributed Mount Si High School senior Annie Nelson is a National Merit semifinalist and star student who is battling cancer. Photo contributed
Students qualify for the National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the Preliminary SAT (PSAT) the fall of their junior year. Since the PSAT began in 1955, the corporation has recognized 3 million students and provided over 335,000 scholarships worth more than $1.3 billion, according to its Web site.
Of the approximately 1.5 million students who take the PSAT every year, about 34,000 are recognized as commended students, based on their high scores. The Mount Si commended students include Julie Censullo, Natalie Copeland, Patrick Gavin, Jeff Heidel, Michyla Lindberg, Chloe Loveridge and Alex Rudd.
Commended students are not eligible for National Merit scholarships, but sometimes corporations or businesses sponsor them for special scholarships.
Censullo admitted she only flipped through the PSAT booklet the day before the test, but said she was excited to be a commended student, especially since it will give her a boost when applying to college.
“It’s kind of a big deal. I didn’t realize that’s what gets you the picture on the wall,” Censullo said, “When I found out, that’s what I was most excited about.”
The semifinalist, Dianna ‘Annie’ Nelson, is one of 16,000 seniors across the nation who can apply to become one of 15,000 National Merit finalists. Finalists are eligible for $2,500 scholarships and other awards.
Nelson may have scored well on the PSAT, but the high school senior excels in many areas, even as she fights cancer. She has soft tissue sarcoma, a cancer in connective tissue.
Cancer treatment can be a physical and emotional drain, but Nelson has not let it take her focus from her goals.
She took a test prep course offered by the Princeton Review the summer before she took the PSAT. Following the test, Nelson said she knew she would do well, “but I was still really nervous because it’s such a big factor for getting into college.”
In her free time, Nelson can be found playing the flute, tutoring at Kumon Math & Reading Center in Snoqualmie or sketching people.
A flutist since the fifth grade, Nelson qualified and played for All-State Concert Band last year. At Mount Si, she plays first chair flute in the wind ensemble.
The musician also enjoys reading in her spare time. In college, she plans to double major in English literature and psychology.
“I started reading really early. I remember reading The Hobbit in first or second grade,” Nelson said. “I think reading is probably one of the most important things in your education.”
This past summer, Nelson had a lump on her back examined by physicians and learned she has cancer.
“It didn’t come as shock, because it’s one of those things that you have a feeling and you know,” Nelson said.
She went through the works – undergoing x-rays, CAT, ultrasound and MRI scans, an electrocardiogram and a biopsy. Now a Seattle Children’s Hospital patient, she receives chemotherapy once every three weeks, causing her to frequently miss school. Realizing schoolwork would be hard to juggle with chemotherapy’s side effects, Nelson decreased her course load of four AP classes to one – AP British literature.
“I have friends bring me my homework,” Nelson said. “It can be difficult to get it done sometimes because I’m not always feeling up to it.”
Mount Si language arts teacher Eric Goldhammer had nothing but good things to say about Nelson.
“She’s definitely one of the brightest and most thoughtful students I’ve ever had,” Goldhammer said. “She’s very inquisitive and thoughtful in everything she does. She’s an incredible writer.”
Nelson plans to submit her National Merit finalist application amid her schoolwork, treatment and applying to college.
Mount Si counselor Joe Galagan praised the students recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Program.
“It’s an achievement meant for the students, and it’s an achievement for the school when you have that many in one class,” Galagan said.
This year, all Mount Si juniors will pay $15 to take the PSAT during school on Oct. 14. Sophomore can pay $25 to take the PSAT Oct. 17. Students can register in the career center.
Laura Geggel: 392-6434 ext. 221 or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com. Comment at www.snovalleystar.com.
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