Each year Cary Grove has about one National Merit Semifinalist. This year, however, the school has three students that have gone above and beyond the ordinary. Senior Lauren Felleson is one of the National Merit Semifinalists representing Cary-Grove this year along with seniors Sam Catlett and Emily Havard.

The way to become eligible for this scholarship is by scoring well on the PSAT or SAT your freshman or sophomore year of high school. However, this is easier said than done, given how many students take the test every year.

Felleson enjoys her physics and AP Literature courses, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have to work to achieve in them.

“For classes that have a lot of memorization I like quizlet for psych and language classes,” Felleson said. “For other [classes], I just pay attention really well in class and read the textbook, [watch] youtube [and] explaining things to others helps.”

It’s probably not surprising that a student who performed so well on the SAT is interested in a future in academics and research.

“I’m planning [to major in] physics with a minor in Spanish,” she said. “I like science in general, but physics is the area of science that I think I would be most interested in doing research in.” She is still unsure of where she would like to go to college.

Felleson has spent her high school years doing more than just studying, however, and has advice for underclassmen.

“If you want to join a club, don’t be scared,” she said. “[And] don’t burn yourself out academically.” In order to avoid burning out academically, she said, “I like to read, watch TV shows [and] sleep.”

The finalists for the scholarship will be announced from March through June. We wish Felleson and the other Cary-Grove semifinalists the best of luck!