Two students at West Hartford’s Northwest Catholic High School have been named National Hispanic Scholar by the 2018 National Merit Program.

Submitted by Maureen Scudder, Northwest Catholic High School

Natiel Cooper of Hartford and Andrew Hungerford of West Hartford have been named National Hispanic Scholars by the 2018 National Merit Program.

To be recognized as a National Hispanic Scholar, Hispanic and Latino high school juniors must rank among the top 250,000 students who take the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, or PSAT/NMSQT. They also must achieve a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher by the middle of their junior year.

Hispanic and Latino high school juniors who take the PSAT/NMSQT could be invited to apply for academic recognition as part of the College Board’s National Hispanic Recognition Program (NHRP). Every year the NHRP recognizes about 5,000 Hispanic and Latino juniors who take the test, and colleges use this program to identify academically exceptional Hispanic and Latino students.

“Today we celebrate the achievements of two of our students who have been named National Hispanic Scholars,” said Christopher Stuck, Academic Dean at Northwest Catholic. Stuck continued, “Andrew Hungerford and Natiel Cooper have worked exceedingly hard to achieve this very prestigious award. Northwest Catholic has a proud tradition of academic excellence going back to 1961. As a Catholic high school, we are particularly proud of our diverse student population.” Stuck concluded, “Northwest Catholic High School congratulates these men on their success.”

Northwest Catholic’s Class of 2018 has one Semifinalist, two Commended Students, and two National Hispanic Scholars. Students eligible for the 2019 National Merit Scholarship Program will take the PSAT/NMSQT Oct. 11, 2017. To learn more about the National Merit Program, visit nationalmerit.org. To learn more about Northwest Catholic’s academic and college preparatory programs, visit northwestcatholic.org.