SHHS Has Second Highest Number of National Merit Finalists in NE Ohio, Fourth in State
Seventeen members of the Shaker Heights High School Class of 2022 have been named Finalists and 15 have been named
Commended Students in the 67th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.
This student group of Finalists represented the second-highest number of National Merit Finalists among public schools in
Stay Informed:
For the latest news and information about Shaker Heights Schools,
visit shaker.org. Follow us on Facebook.com/ForShakerSchools
or Tweet us @ShakerSchools.
WWW.SHAKER.LIFE | SPRING 2022 11
Northeast Ohio and the fourth-highest in the state.
This year’s National Merit Finalists from Shaker are Nichele Abeyesundere, Kjell Aspelin, Grace Bourdrez, Jonathan Brinkley, Mia
Compton-Engle, Jacob Feinleib, Caroline Lamb, Avery Maytin, Tyler Nordstrom, Benjamin Rakow, River Sadowsky, Luca Sakiewicz,
Benjamin Schattinger, Somiya Schirokauer, Katerina Steiber, Julia Strasburg, and Eva Xiao. These students will have the opportunity to
continue in the competition for National Merit Scholarship awards, and will be candidates for other scholarships as well.
Nationwide, approximately 15,000 National Merit Finalists have been designated from approximately 1.5 million program
entrants in more than 21,000 high schools. Representing less than 1 percent of the country’s high school seniors, Finalists are in the
state’s highest-scoring students on the 2020 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).
This year’s Commended Students from Shaker are Agatha Augustine, Owen Bang, Chethan Chandra, William Corbin, Ruby Cover,
Reilly Dean, Samuel Grube, Henry Harte, Dominic Mayhew, Keegan Polatz, Aziza Reddy, Martina Richter, Ryan Shane, Colt Simonelli,
and James Stewart.
Commended Students are recognized for the exceptional academic promise demonstrated by their performance on the PSAT.
Nationwide, 34,000 students receive this honor.
These scholastically talented seniors are considered top candidates for admission to the most selective colleges. National Merit
Scholarship winners of 2022 will be announced in four nationwide news releases beginning in April and concluding in July.
Shaker Schools Alumni Hall of Fame Honors 2021 Inductees
The Shaker Schools Alumni Hall of Fame will honor the 2021 inductees at a special dinner at Shaker Heights Country Club on
Saturday, May 21. All are welcome to attend; tickets are available at shakerschoolsfoundation.org/events. The inductees will also share
their stories and inspiring remarks with students at Shaker Heights High School on Monday, May 23.
The 2021 inductees are: Bob Barber, class of 1967; Hilary Beard, class of 1980; The Honorable Carolyn Gold, class of 1974; Mark
Davies Griffin, class of 1981; Ayesha Bell Hardaway, class of 1993; Andrea Johnson, class of 1994; Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III, class of
1988; Cecilia H. Render, class of 1979; and Thomas Young, class of 1964. Read about their accomplishments and contributions at
shakerschoolsfoundation.org/alumni.
Update: Educational Equity Fund in Action
Thanks to generous support from our community, the Shaker Schools Foundation’s Educational Equity Fund
is making a significant impact for students in every grade level. Examples of projects and initiatives supported
this school year include:
• Mirrors and Windows, a robust K-4 literacy program featuring books that allow students to see themselves in literature and learn
more about other cultures.
• Kids Cook at Home partnerships with EDWINS Leadership Academy for students and their families to learn cooking skills as they
prepare delicious, healthy meals at home.
• Minority Achievement Committee (MAC) Scholars Summer Enrichment, a six-week program for rising 5th grade MAC Scholars and
MAC Sister Scholars to build math, science, language, and literature skills, and to participate in leadership and fun physical activities.
• Girls Who Code and Girls in STEM, two Middle School clubs offering opportunities for girls to explore STEM and coding and to see
themselves in those fields.
• Expanded programming and mentoring for the Student Group on Race Relations (SGORR) and MAC Scholars programming, to
reach more students.
• High-quality entrepreneur and internship opportunities that give high school students real-world experiences.
To learn more about how the Shaker Schools Foundation
supports diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Shaker
Schools, visit shakerschoolsfoundation.org. SL
/shaker.org
/ForShakerSchools
/WWW.SHAKER.LIFE
/events
/alumni
/shakerschoolsfoundation.org