Roseville students named National Merit semifinalists; three commended scholars honored

The Roseville Area School Board on Oct. 28 honored students from Roseville Area High School who earned National Merit recognition, including two semifinalists and three commended scholars.

Razi Abando, a school counselor at Roseville Area High School who coordinates the district’s National Merit program, told the board that the PSAT is taken by about 1.3 million students across roughly 21,000 U.S. schools. "Only 50,000 of those 1.3 million were considered high scores," Abando said, and about 34,000 were named National Merit Commended Students. "About 16,000 students — less than 1% of the nation's high school graduating seniors — score high enough to qualify as semifinalists each year," she added.

Abando named the commended students as Henry Eubank, Liam O’Neil and Lily Bridal (who were not all in attendance), and announced two semifinalists, Stella Patner and Rachel Lee. "We just want to congratulate you on being part of less than 1% of the class of 2026 to earn this honor," Abando told the students in the boardroom.

Semifinalist Rachel Lee, a senior planning to study illustration in college, said she hopes to attend Virginia Commonwealth University to pursue illustration and storyboard work. "I really like to make art, and that's what I hope to do in the future," Lee said. Semifinalist Stella Patner said she plans to attend university next year, possibly in Australia.

Director Frank Shaw congratulated the students and noted how colleges and scholarship programs often reach out to high‑scoring National Merit participants. "Even at the commended level and some of the finalists, lots of schools have scholarships or special programs," Shaw said.

The board presented certificates to attending students and offered public congratulations. Abando told the board that National Merit finalists will be named in February 2026 and that thousands of scholarships and special corporate awards are associated with the program.