Kingswood Oxford School has two Naitonal Merit Scholarship Semifinalists this year.

Kingswood Oxford’s Benjamin Waldman ’16 of West Hartford (left) and Ben Sullivan ’16 of Longmeadow, MA, have been named National Merit Semifinalists. Submitted photo

Submitted by Michelle M. Murphy, Director of Communications & Marketing, Kingswood Oxford School

Two outstanding seniors at Kingswood Oxford School – Benjamin Waldman of West Hartford (left) and J. Benjamin Sullivan – have been named Semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program.

This means they are among the top 1 percent of the 1.5 million juniors who took the PSAT/NMSQT exam in October 2014. They will now compete for designation as National Merit Finalists and for Merit Scholarships to be awarded next spring.

“Ben Sullivan and Benjamin Waldman exemplify our core values, which balance academic curiosity and perseverance with engagement,” said Associate Head of School Natalie Demers. “They work hard, take risks, and are actively involved in the community. We are so proud of their consistently outstanding achievement, inside and outside the classroom.”

Sullivan, the son of Dennis Sullivan and Rachel Ivker of Longmeadow, MA, founded KO’s Political Affairs Club. He is also a baseball player; a Shield & Dragon tour guide and member of the group’s Executive Committee; a volunteer at an elementary school and with Project Healthy Smile, which procures dental supplies for children in developing nations; and a Senior Advisor, which means he is one of only 14 seniors chosen to serve as mentors to Upper Prep (6th-grade) students.

Waldman, the son of Jamie and Keith Waldman ’75 of West Hartford, is an outstanding member of the award-winning Model UN club. In addition to serving as the group’s President, he was also named “Best Delegate” at the Yale Model UN in January 2015 and won “Best Position Paper” at the conference – the first KO student ever to win this award. His paper was given to each of the 1,600 delegates at the conference as an example of a model paper.

He is also the editor-in-chief of the KO News; a Shield & Dragon admissions tour guide; the Co-Chair of the Investment Club; and a member of the Robotics, JV squash, and tennis teams.

Waldman is also a Martin-Nicholson Scholar, which means he was awarded a merit scholarship to attend KO based on academic performance and exemplary leadership, citizenship, and service.

It is not the first time these two students have earned similar academic accolades; Benjamin Waldman was the winner and Ben Sullivan was the runner-up in this year’s prestigious WALKS Constitutional Essay contest.