Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts seniors Adam Bliss of North Little Rock and Mara Campbell of Little Rock are 2015 National Merit Scholarship Finalists.
The National Merit Scholarship Program is an academic competition for recognition and scholarships that began in 1955. High school students qualify for the program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. About 15,000 students from 1.5 million entrants nationwide are selected as Finalists, who compete for college-sponsored and corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarships as well as National Merit $2,500 Scholarships. Approximately 7,600 Finalists will be selected for an award, according to the National Merit Scholarship Foundation website.
Bliss, the son of Deborah Bliss and the late Tony Bliss, said the recognition has already been beneficial. The possibility of receiving a scholarship offer that will allow him to attend college with a full scholarship is more likely now.
“I think it opens a lot of scholarship opportunities outside of Arkansas,” he said. Once I [was selected as a Finalist], I started getting scholarship offers from universities outside of Arkansas.”
He also said the recognition will allow him to receive a full ride to the University of Arkansas. He has also been accepted to California Polytechnic Institute. He plans on majoring in mechanical or electrical engineering to work in the robotics field.
“I like the interdisciplinary nature of it. It’s a whole process. You take an idea, make a design, test it and see how it works,” he said.
His first real experience with robotics was at ASMSA. He served as co-captain of the school’s BEST Robotics team, which placed top in the state for the BEST Award and finished third in the regional competition.
“It’s essentially finishing in the top 10 in the nation,” he said of the regional contest.
Campbell, the daughter of Robin and Edward Campbell, said she was happy to learn that she was a finalist. She was anxious about receiving an answer when several people she knew had been notified they were not selected as a Finalist. She thought that since she hadn’t been notified that it was good news.
“I really wanted it verified,” she said.
She said being named a Finalist and receiving scholarships will make college more accessible. Hendrix College in Conway is one school she is consdering but she has not made a final decision yet.
Campbell said she plans to major in molecular biology and eventually work in the field of virology, the study of viruses.
She said she took a medical professions class at North Little Rock High School, the school she attended before ASMSA. One of the teachers encouraged her to read “The Hot Zone,” a book by Richard Preston about the emergence of the Ebola virus. She said the book stoked her interest in viruses.
At ASMSA, she was able to further her studies by taking microbiology, immunology and molecular biology. Those courses confirmed that virology in general interested her.
“I think viruses are really cool. They excite me. I really like learning about them,” she said.