St. Benedict at Auburndale High School (SBA) is proud to announce that senior Maggie Alexander has been selected a semifinalist in the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program. Maggie is one of only approximately 16,000 Semifinalists in the 65th annual program. She has the opportunity to advance in the competition for some 7,500 National Merit Scholarships. Finalists will be named in the spring.
Maggie is AP and Honors student with an active extracurricular career. She is an AP Scholar with Distinction (granted to students who receive an average score of at least 3.5 on all AP exams taken and scores of 3 or higher on five or more exams). She has also collected many academic awards, namely –
- Rensselaer Medal Award
- Excellence in Software Development and Robot Design (VEX and First Robotics)
- Highest Average Awards – AP Seminar, AP Chemistry, AP English Language & Composition, AP US History, Pre-Calculus Honors, Honors Biology, Honors English I
- Bronze & Silver Awards for National Spanish Exam
- Highest Average Awards for Honors Algebra II, AP World History, Honors English II, Principles of Engineering, Honors Chemistry
- Excellence Award in Honors Spanish II, Honors Geometry
Maggie is a member of the National Honor Society, Science National Honor
Society, National English Honor Society, Spanish National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta and Rho Kapp National Social Studies Honor Society. She has appeared on the Principal’s Honor Roll all four years of high school and achieved a 35 on the ACT. She has a weighted GPA of 4.9.
Maggie was selected for the Tennessee Governor’s School for Science and Engineering, Vanderbilt Summer Academy for Talented Youth, Christian Brothers University Women in Engineering Program and is a St. Jude Science Scholar of Tomorrow. She serves as President of the St. Jude Club and Captain of the Varsity Tennis Team. In addition, Maggie is a member of the school’s concert band, having played the flute for seven years. She is also active and gifted in visual arts.
With all this, Maggie has found time to serve the St. Mary’s Soup Kitchen by baking bread, raising funds for St. Jude Children’s Hospital, serving at the Ronald McDonald House and youth group activities.
Maggie is the daughter of Captain and Mrs. John David Alexander of Bartlett.
In announcing Maggie’s accomplishments, Principal Sondra Morris said, “We are extremely proud of this dynamic student for what she has accomplished throughout her time at SBA. She has contributed in leadership, integrity and time. Everyone should be so fortunate to have a student the caliber of Maggie Alexander as one of their own. We’re proud she is an SBA Eagle.”
