News

Danvers High graduate receives Merit scholarship

By Joe O'Connell
Correspondent
Published: July 22, 2008

DANVERS — When Elliot Simons found out he was a recipient of a College-Sponsored National Merit Scholarship, there were no balloons, no party, no oversized check — just a letter. Not exactly the kind of celebration you would expect for such a prestigious award.

"It was pretty low-key," said Simons. "There is a lot of time that passes between notifications."

The 18-year-old Danvers High School graduate was one of 1,900 winners announced on July 14 by the National Merit Scholarship Corp. They join the 2,800 other College-Sponsored winners who were chosen in late May.

Simons received the National Merit University of Vermont scholarship, where he will head in the fall to study veterinary medicine.

"I really like animals," he said. "I had a lot of apprehension about going to college. I've tried to throw myself completely into it."

Danvers High School Principal Thomas Murray is not at all surprised by Simons' accomplishment. The two worked closely together last year after Murray asked Simons to talk to prospective students about attending Danvers High School.

"Great guy and an outstanding student," said Murray. "The reason why Elliot stands out amongst other students is because he is incredibly well-rounded."

Simons was also active in the Danvers High Theatre Academy. Last May he was the lead in the company's production of "All Shook Up."

The process of becoming a National Merit Scholar began two years ago when Simons and more than a million other juniors across the country took the Preliminary SATs. Top scorers from each state qualified for the program and were named semifinalists in September 2007, which narrowed the group of potential scholarship winners to 16,000.

Simons had to meet more requirements in order to advance to the final round, which included submitting a detailed scholarship application, an essay, being academically outstanding and having strong SAT scores.

"Just making it through the whole process is quite an achievement," said Murray.

From there the group shrank to 15,000 students, and only half of those students received National Merit Scholarships.

With the process being so long, Simons did not really expect to win anything.

"I never really thought I would get it," he said. "It was really exciting for me when it went through. I got a lot of help staying on top of it from my parents and guidance counselor."