Fort Atkinson High School Principal Leigh Ann Scheuerell has announced that Henry Gehrenbeck, the son of  Robert and Sarah Gehrenbeck of Whitewater, has been named a semifinalist in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program.  

Within the release, Scheuerell noted that the National Merit Scholarship Program is an annual academic competition among high school students for recognition and college scholarships that began in 1955. United States high school students enter the National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which serves as an initial screen of over 1.3 million entrants each year, and by meeting published program entry and participation requirements. Students are recognized for their academic and extracurricular achievements.

Of the 50,000 students across the nation that have potential to be recognized, only 16,000 students are named as National Merit Semifinalists each year, Scheuerell wrote.  

Semifinalists must next fulfill additional requirements and advance to the finalist level of the competition to be considered for a $2,500 scholarship.

Approximately 15,000 of the 16,000 semifinalists will advance to finalist standing by submitting SAT scores that confirm the earlier PSAT/NMSQT performance. They must also have an outstanding academic record, and be endorsed and recommended by a high school official.

Additionally, the principal stated, they must submit an application that includes high school courses and grades, extracurricular and volunteer activities, and a self-descriptive essay. The information that is collected about each semifinalist is later used, as part of the process, to choose scholarship winners, which will be announced in the spring.