The greatest gift to an educator is to see students mature in mind and attitude, and even more humbling is when that progress is acknowledged by others. This year sees the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) commending three Year 13 IB students for their performance on the American Preliminary SAT (PSAT)--evidence of the YCIS Shanghai faculty’s commitment to educating academically savvy students.

Commended student Natasha says, “Hard work pays off! I was shocked but obviously happy.”  The title is awarded to the top five percent of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2011 competition by taking the 2009 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®).

Classmate Gabriella reflects on the importance of matching knowledge with drive and passion as she advances to the semifinalist round, “Education is extremely important, but even more important than the result itself is how I got there and what I learned. My parents taught me to discipline myself and work towards a goal. Being brainy or ‘booksmart’ isn’t enough in situations like this—you have to put in the effort in order to get something back. From this award, I learned that I am capable of reaching my goals, so why not dream big?”

“Recognition of high-achieving students is essential to advancing educational excellence in the USA,” commented a spokesperson for NMSC. “As demonstrated by their outstanding performance in our highly competitive programme, the young men and women named Commended Students represent some of the most academically talented students in our country. We sincerely hope this recognition will enhance their educational opportunities and encourage them in their pursuit of academic excellence.”