By Emily O’Connor
Westfield High School Senior Ethan Worthington has been named a semifinalist in the 2014 National Merit Scholarship Program. Less than one percent of high school seniors earn this recognition for outstanding performance on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test taken in their junior year. Worthington was informed about his honor through his school counselor.
“I didn’t even know when I was taking the PSAT that it was a thing,” Worthington said of the National Merit Scholarship program.
Worthington, the son of Phil and Michelle Worthington, is a member of the National Honor Society. His favorite subject is history, and he aspires to become a history teacher. Worthington is undecided on where he will attend college, but he is applying to Indiana University-Bloomington, Franklin College and Butler University.
“I am definitely a talented person and have done a fair bit with those things, but I am still just a kid,” he said.
In addition to his academic success, Worthington is also an avid runner. Beginning the sport in seventh grade, he has been a part of the varsity cross country team throughout high school. Worthington has earned all-county and all-conference titles.
“It’s something I have always done,” Worthington said about why he enjoys running.
Because of his National Merit Finalist status, Worthington is competing for 8,000 scholarship awards worth $35 million. Approximately 16,000 high school seniors were named 2014 National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists from more than 1.5 million juniors entered in the program. Finalists will be announced in spring 2014. About 90 percent of semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing, and more than half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship.