By VERNON ROBISON
The Progress
A local youth has been recognized among the top students in the country for his academic performance. Moapa Valley High School student Iain McMurray, of Logandale, was notified last month that he qualified as a National Merit Scholar finalist. On Friday, March 10, McMurray was presented with a certificate which formally recognized this achievement.
“It was pretty great to get the news last month,” McMurray said about his finalist status. “I have put in a lot of work over the years. So it was nice to see it all come to fruition.”
The designation puts McMurray in the top one-fifth of one percent in the country for all those taking the PSAT college-readiness exam in their junior year of high school.
Early eligibility to be considered for National Merit Scholar status is determined by high scores on the PSAT. In order to qualify as a semi-finalist, students need a test score within the top 1 percent of their state. McMurray was notified of this status in September.
From there he was asked to submit an extensive application to be considered as a finalist. This involved submitting letters of recommendation, essays, a resume, a high school transcript, college entrance exam results and more. Only the top 15,000 applicants in the nation go on to become finalists.
From this pool of finalists, approximately 8,200 students will be awarded scholarships from National Merit Scholarship Corporation and/or a range of sponsoring colleges and corporations.
McMurray said he plans to go to college next year and begin a major study in Computer Science. He has already been accepted to Utah State University with a generous scholarship. He is also awaiting word on an entrance application at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He expected word on that application to come in the next week or so.
“If I can convince (MIT) to give me a good enough scholarship where I won’t go into major debt, then I would definitely consider going there,” McMurray said. “But I have been offered a really good scholarship at Utah State. So I will probably go there”
In addition to academic high achievement, McMurray has also been active in a number of different pursuits during his years at Moapa Valley High School. He has served in leadership positions in the local chapter of the FFA. He has been a key member of the school’s championship robotics team. He plays trombone in the MVHS band. During his high school years he has participated in the MVHS wrestling, cross country and swim teams.
McMurray expressed gratitude to those who had helped him throughout his high school career. “I would just really like to thank my parents and all of the teachers who helped me get to this point,” he said. “I definitely could not have done this without so much support!”
Iain is the son of Sean and Maggie McMurray of Logandale.
