Smith-Cotton High School senior Alisa Sonnik has been named a semifinalist in the 67th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.

As one of about 16,000 semifinalists across the nation, Sonnik will continue in the competition for the 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $30 million, according to a news release from the program. National Merit Scholarship winners will be announced in the spring.

School officials say the pool of semifinalists represents less than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors; the number of semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors, according to the release.

The release stated, “To become a finalist, the semifinalist and a high school official must submit a detailed scholarship application, in which they provide information about the semifinalist’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received. A semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn SAT or ACT scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test.”

In addition to a challenging academic schedule, Sonnik performs with the Smith-Cotton orchestra.