Chesterton High School announced that all 12 senior semifinalists have advanced to finalists in the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) program. They are now among some 15,000 secondary finalists throughout the United States vying for 7,500 National Merit Scholarships. Merit Scholars will be selected in March or April. Those student finalists are Joseph Adcock, Jenna Aguilar, Calvin Anders, Gavin Dooley, Dylan Draves, Ryan Herr, Gabriel Kroeger, Aidan Li, Reagan Morton, Zachary Mullins, Xavier Pittman and Joshua Sweet.
Adcock is the son of Karen and Aaron Adcock of Chesterton. He is a member of National Honor Society (NHS), Tri-M Music Society, Quiz Bowl, Academic Super Bowl, Academic Decathlon, Symphonic Orchestra, Jazz Band, French club, and Business Professionals of America (BPA). Joseph plans to study environmental engineering/piano performance at University of Michigan or Vanderbilt University.
Aguilar is the daughter of Melissa Polowsky and David Saitta. She is active in Speech and Debate, French club, NHS, tennis and is a peer tutor. Jenna plans to study engineering at Purdue University.
Anders is the son of Julie and Joseph Anders of Chesterton. He is a member of the Sandpipers Show Choir as a section leader and is in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. Calvin plans to study aerospace engineering at Purdue University.
Dooley is the son of Joseph and Lesley Dooley of Westville. He is active in Orchestra, Marching Band, Jazz Band, Pep Band, Quiz Bowl and is a member of NHS and Tri-M Honor Society. Gavin plans to study mathematics at University of Chicago.
Draves is the son of Vivian and Richard Draves of Porter. He is active in varsity cross country and track, and is a member of the Academic Decathlon, Super Bowl and Quiz Bowl; and NHS. Dylan plans to study neuroscience surgery at University of Chicago.
Herr is the son of Jeffrey and Lynne Herr of Porter. He is active in Trojan Guard marching band, Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band and Orchestra, Jazz Band, Pit Orchestra, and Show Choir Backup Band. He is also a member of NHS and Tri-M Honor Society. Ryan plans to study mechanical engineering. His college/university choice is undecided.
Kroeger is the son of Kristin and Paul Kroeger of Chesterton. He is active in varsity swimming, and intramural volleyball. He is a member of the PSAT Study Club, NHS and Trailbound. Gabriel plans to study math, physics and computer science. His college/university choice is undecided.
Li is the son of Ginger and Kenneth Li of Chesterton. He is active in tennis, Quiz Bowl, Japanese Olympiad, Academic Super Bowl, and is a member of peer tutoring, NHS and BPA. Aidan plans to study software engineering. His college/university choice is undecided.
Morton is the daughter of Kim and Jeff Morton of Porter. She is active in Academic Super Bowl and German Club. She is a member of NHS, tutor lab and is a mentor for the Bridges Program. Reagan plans to study English and is undecided on her college/university.
Mullins is the son of Cindy Lute of Chesterton. He is active in Speech and Debate, Natural Helpers, ASL club, NHS and is a peer tutor. Zachary plans to study chemistry at Columbia University or Indiana University at Bloomington.
Pittman is the son Nikki Wood and Jeffrey Pittman of Chesterton. He is a member of BPA, NHS, Academic Decathlon, Academic Super Bowl, Quiz Bowl, Chess club, German club and study club. Xavier plans to study business management at Indiana University Bloomington.
Sweet is the son of Marcia and Bob Sweet of Porter. He is active in Academic Decathlon, Academic Super Bowl, Quiz Bowl, Boy Scouts of America, NHS, Camerata Choir, Spanish club and Social Justice League. Josh plans to study finance or engineering at Indiana University-Bloomington or Purdue University West Lafayette.