Local Milford student up for scholarship

For most students, taking two or three Advanced Placement (AP) classes would be a difficult schedule, but for senior Jack Lewis, that would be considered a walk in the park. Over the course of his high school career, Lewis has taken 12 out of the 15 AP classes offered here at Milford. He has also received college credit for nine of the AP exams offered by College Board. That hard work in the classroom has paid off with national recognition on a standardized test performance.

Last year, Lewis was one of more than 3.2 million students across the nation that took the PSAT/NMSQT- a Preliminary SAT that also qualifies students to enter into the National Merit Scholarship Program.

In early October, three other seniors- Sydney Stankovich, Alix Hess, and Rowan Marchie were recognized as commended students, receiving a certificate for their high scores; and Lewis was one of only 16,000 students across the nation to become a semi-finalist. “It is a prestigious award,” said Lewis, who placed in the 99.95 percentile of test scorers “I didn’t think I would score high enough to qualify.”

Lewis academic ability has been recognized by both teachers and administrators at MHS.

“He(Lewis) has an unique mind. He has the ability to read and memorize material right away,” stated Kevin McKenna, principal at Milford High School. This ability to retain information so easily has caused Lewis to constantly challenge himself academically. Lewis’ current schedule consists of four AP classes- Psychology, Government, Biology, and Literature and Composition- and Spanish 5.  He said the hardest AP class he has taken was AP Physics; the easiest being AP Human Geography, which is offered to freshmen; and his favorite class is AP Literature and Composition with Amy Prescott.

Lewis stated that his motivation for taking such challenging classes is the possibility of receiving college credit. “I’m a first generation college student, so having large amounts of money helps out a lot because we(Lewis’ family) are new to this process,” explained Lewis. After high school, Lewis plans to attend the University of Michigan-Dearborn to pursue a pre-med degree. If he becomes a finalist, Lewis wants to attend the University of Michigan- Ann Arbor, instead.

McKenna said all high achieving students should consider taking the PSAT as a junior.

“Put what you can into it now,”  said McKenna. “Nobody knows what their pathway will be at this moment in time. Just keep doors open in the future. You don’t want to do things now that will close doors for you in the future.”

To keep those doors open in the future, McKenna suggests that students take advantage of what the school has to offer when preparing for the PSAT and SAT.

“Push yourself. Don’t expect things to be given to you. They’re not,” exclaimed Mckenna. He recommend that students practice on the weekends and get a tutor or make use of Khan Academy and other test prep resources.

As for Lewis, there was no real studying for him in preparation for the test. He claims that all the AP classes he has taken were useful and prepared him the most. Lewis considers himself to be well read, which he claims is part of the reason why he scored so high on the PSAT/NMSQT and the SAT. Lewis scored a 1470 on the SAT last year, with the reading section having the highest score.

After becoming a semifinalist, Lewis became busy with completing paperwork required to become qualified as a  finalist. He compares all the paperwork he completed to an application because he had to include volunteer hours, his grades, letters of recommendations from teachers and counselors, and other personal information. All of the hard work Lewis has put into his high school career has surely paid off, and  it will mean  the world to him if he becomes a finalist. Lewis’ perspective on this opportunity is simply: “I have completed my part, now all I have to do is wait until March.”