News

Congratulations to Milken's ten National Merit Semifinalists! The National Merit Scholarship Program is an annual academic competition for all students who participate in the PSAT in their junior year. 16,000 Semifinalists were selected among the 1.5 million juniors attending 22,000 high schools across the United States. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, which represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest scoring entrants in each state. Our ten Semifinalists will now compete nationally to move on to Finalist status.  To become Finalists, students must have exemplary academic records and earn SAT scores that confirm their earlier performance on the PSAT. This is the first time in Milken's history that ten students have been honored from our School, and we are so proud of them, their accomplishments, and for being such exemplary representatives of what "living our mission" truly means.

For more information on the Nation Merit Scholarship Program, visit: www.nationalmerit.org.

The following are the names of our Semifinalists from the Class of 2010: 

• Jonathan B. — Active in Yozma; has participated in four science competitions through MAST, placing first in the Pete Conrad Spirit of Innovation competition with his team.  
• Benjamin B. — Excels academically across the board; volunteers at Cedars Sinai Medical Center, where he shadows surgeons in his quest to become a doctor.
• Todd D. — Avid journalist (has held editing positions on the Roar since grade 9); dedicated Student Ambassador; talented pianist; active in raising money for juvenile diabetes. 
• David G. — Co-editor-in-chief of the Roar for the past two years; environmental activist. 
• Naftali H. — Scientist, writer, mathematician, linguist; doubled-up on all of his requirements in his junior year (and received straight As!) in order to enroll early as a first-year student at the University of Chicago. 
• Mason K.— Writer of the highest caliber; athlete; songwriter (he is writing his own musical based on a biblical story); excels in every area from  — humanities to the sciences. 
• Jonathan L. — Mathematician (exhausted all of Milken's math offerings and takes classes at UCLA); passionate about public transportation from both a sociological and environmental perspective. 
• Jesse M. — Passionate about business and politics; founded Milken's business forum; co-founded Milken's chapter of Kiva (a microlending website); and revived interfaith dialogue with Islamic Center of Los Angeles that was initiated by a student from the Class of 2004. 
• Tamara P.— Launched Abayudaya through Yozma, a tutoring program for Spanish-speaking children from lower-income families; editor for the Literary Magazine and senior co-coordinator of the Writes of Passage for the Creative Writing Program; AP artist; excels in all academic, creative writing, and visual arts disciplines.  
• Daniel R. — Avid history buff; active in politics; along with Jesse M., cofounded Kiva chapter and revived interfaith dialogue.