Killeen High School senior Harvey Morris is a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist.
Consistent hard work and seeking help from teachers when needed has been a formula for success for the high achieving student, he said.
Morris found out about the possibility of earning Merit Scholar status shortly before he took the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test and found out just this week that his score fell within range of the elite honor.
The KHS senior is among 16,000 students across America who are Merit Scholar Semifinalists.
Typically, 95 percent of Semifinalists earn Finalist status and eligibility to compete for 6,700 National Merit Scholarships valued at $24 million.
“I checked online and saw the score met the requirement,” he said Thursday. “I was glad about that. A lot of hard work went into it and a lot of help from teachers.”
“It shows the culmination of a lot of hard work and help from others,” he said.
Morris said he uses the College Board website to study. He praised his teachers, both at KHS and at the Career Center for helping him. He takes video game design at the Career Center and a full load of Advanced Placement classes.
He plans to attend the University of Texas or Rice University to study a STEM field, probably engineering.