SSWSC Student-Athletes are National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists

Two SSWSC student-athletes were named as Semifinalists in the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC®), Benjamin (Grey) Barbier and Alena Rossi; both athletes are seniors at Steamboat Springs High School and on the SSWSC cross country ski team.

Over 1.3 million juniors in about 21,000 high schools entered the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2022 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®) as an initial screen of program entrants.

Applicants and a high school official must submit a detailed scholarship application in which they provide information about the Semifinalist’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received. Semifinalists must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn SAT® or ACT scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test. National Merit Scholarship winners of 2024 will be announced beginning in April 2024.

Congratulations to Alena and Grey, who exemplify champions on and off the mountain.

Last year, SSWSC alumna Suzy Magill was honored with this same distinction and went on to become a National Merit Scholar. Less than 1% of the initial pool of student entrants (3.5 million students) become National Merit Scholars. Suzy was also on the cross country ski team at SSWSC. She graduated from Steamboat Springs High School in spring 2023 and now attends Dartmouth College.