photo by Matt Doebler
Signal Mountain Middle High announces that senior Bethany Burns, daughter of Kirk and Haven Burns, has been named a 2016 National Merit Scholarship Semi finalist.
The process of becoming a semifinalist begins during students' junior year of high school when they take the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Those named semifinalists are the highest-scoring entrants in each state — fewer than one percent of all U.S. high school seniors, according to the National Merit Scholarship Corp.
This year, 16,000 seniors across the country qualified.
Ms. Burns is 1 of 28 high school seniors from the Chattanooga area who now have the opportunity to compete for 7,400 National Merit Scholarships valued at more than $32 million, which will be awarded in spring 2016.
"I've been fortunate to not only have teachers that work hard to enable me to achieve my goals, but also to attend a school with outstanding community support and a wide variety of learning opportunities beyond the classroom," said Ms. Burns.
In addition to being named a National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist, Ms. Burns ranks first in her class, has a 4.0 unweighted GPA, and is a member of National Honor Society, Beta Club and Mu Alpha Theta. She will graduate with an International Baccalaureate diploma from SMMHS in May of 2016.
Ms. Burns is a five time Carson Scholarship recipient (founded by Dr. Ben Carson) and an United States Achievement Academy National Mathematics Award and Scholarship recipient.
She has served as president of the SMMHS Technology Student Association, the Tennessee State president of the Technology Student Association and is a six-time National Champion at the United States Technology Student Association competition.
Ms. Burns has also served in Tennessee YMCA Youth in Government at the State Legislature where she was voted twice as Outstanding Statesperson and Speaker Pro-Temp of the Senate.
She currently holds the title of Distinguished Young Woman of Signal Mountain (formerly known as Junior Miss) and she was 1st runner up in the state Distinguished Young Woman of Tennessee Scholarship Pageant where she played piano as her talent, which she has studied since second grade.
Ms. Burns plays the French Horn as well and was named first chair in the East Tennessee Band and Orchestra Association Honor Band in tenth grade.
As captain of the SMMHS girls golf team for the second year in a row, Bethany has helped the Lady Eagles win two state championships in golf where she's been named a TSSAA All-State Girls Golfer twice by placing as a top 10 finisher. She's been named twice to the Best of Preps Girls Golf first team as well by the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
SMMHS Principal Robin Copp says, "Bethany is truly one of the most well rounded students I have had the pleasure of working with, excelling in every endeavor she undertakes from the work she does in the classroom, to the golf course, to Youth in Government, Model United Nations or Technology Student Association. She is a remarkable young lady with a bright future."
Ms. Burns has committed to play Division 1 women's golf at an Ivy League school, Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH.