Royal High School Principal Tony Runnels is excited and proud to announce that Angel Velasquez has been named a Commended Student in the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program. Angel and his family moved from Venezuela to Royal when Angel was in the fifth grade. Upon moving to Royal, Angel did not speak English. He worked hard and excelled in his studies, and eventually entered the Royal Early College High School program.
Melissa Baker, Royal Director of Advanced Academics, stated, “Angel has been an exceptional student throughout his four years as an ECHS student. He will be graduating this May with his Associate of Arts from Lone Star College Tomball, and I could not be more proud of his accomplishments. I know that achieving recognition from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation has been one of his goals for quite some time, and when Angel makes up his mind to achieve something, I never have any doubt that he will indeed achieve it.”
Angel's top college choices are Rice University and University of Texas, and he is interested in studying Computer Engineering and/or Creative Writing. The entire Royal community is incredibly proud of Angel for his superior accomplishments, and we cannot wait to see where life takes him!
The Letter of Commendation is below:
The Principal, Tony Runnels, of Royal High School, announced today that Angel Velasquez has been named a Commended Student in the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program. A Letter of Commendation from the school and the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), which conducts the program, has been presented by the principal to this scholastically talented senior.
About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Although Angel will not continue in the 2022 competition for National Merit Scholarship awards, Commended Students placed among the top 50,000 who entered the 2022 competition by taking the 2020 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholar Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).
“Those being named Commended Students have demonstrated outstanding potential for academic success,” commented a spokesperson for NMSC. “These students represent valuable national resource; recognizing their accomplishments, as well as the key role their schools play in their academic development, is vital to the advancement of educational excellence in our nation. We hope that this recognition will help broaden their educational opportunities and encourage them as they continue their pursuit of academic success.”
Of the 1.5 million entrants, some 50,000 with the highest scores qualify for recognition in the National Merit Scholarship Program. Of those 50,000, more than two-thirds (about 34,000) receive Letters of Commendation in recognition of their outstanding academic promise. In other words, only 2.27% of entrants receive Letters of Commendation.
