Trio of Elder Seniors Named National Merit Semifinalists

Elder High School seniors, Sam Harmeyer, Evan Vollmer, and Jared Vornhagen, are three of about 16,000 seniors nationwide to be named 2020 National Merit Semifinalists in the 65th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. 
The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, including Harmeyer, Vollmer, and Vornhagen, represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors. Over 1.5 million juniors in about 21,000 high schools from across the country took the 2018 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) which served as an initial screen of program entrants. These three young men will now have the opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,600 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $31 million and be named a National Merit Finalist.

Sam, Evan and Jared are products of Elder’s Honors Program, a rigorous program of courses which challenges the academically gifted students of the school. All three young men are members of Elder’s National Honor Society.

Sam Harmeyer is the student body President for the 2019-2020 school year and a member of the following: student government, Elder’s Ambassador Program, concert and stage band, and the Health Collaborative TapMD shadowing program. Sam is also a peer tutor and Boys & Girls Club tutor and is the place-kicker for the Panther football team. Sam is from Our Lady of Visitation parish and he is the son of John and Colleen Harmeyer of Cleves.

Evan Vollmer is also a member of Elder’s Ambassador Program, a peer tutor, and a member of the student run Why Not Service Group, and is a wide receiver on the football team. Evan is from Our Lady of Victory parish and he is the son of Jason and Michele Vollmer of Delhi.

Jared Vornhagen serves as an intern for the University of Cincinnati Law School/Ohio Innocence Project as well as serving as a foreman for the Hamilton County Youth Court. He interned this past summer with the Public Defender’s Office of Hamilton County, and he is the team captain of Elder’s Mock Trial Team. Jared is from St. Jude parish and he is the son of Brian and Shellie Vornhagen of Green Township.
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