FWCD Students Receive National Merit, College Board Recognition

Eleven FWCD seniors were named National Merit Commended Students in the National Merit Program. They are Nate Blan, Avery Bleich, Courtney Comeaux, Luci Gonzalez, Gigi Helling, William Marlow, Paxtyn McPeak, Eliza Peacock, Adam Rafati, Hailey Seiden, and Kerri Tsai.

This honor places them among the top 34,000 scorers out of more than 1.5 million students nationwide who entered the competition by taking the PSAT/NMSQT. They are among just 4,653 Commended Students in the entire state of Texas, representing only 607 high schools. “This year’s cutoff for advancing to Semifinalist was the highest it has ever been in Texas, and several of our students came incredibly close to that level,” said Director of College Counseling Kristin Larsen. “Being named a Commended Student is a remarkable academic achievement and speaks to their hard work and intellectual talent.”

Twenty-three FWCD junior and senior students earned honors through the College Board National Recognition Programs. This is a record number for the School. These awards celebrate outstanding academic achievement, including students who are the first in their families to pursue a college degree, as well as those whose PSAT/NMSQT or AP scores place them among the top 10% of test takers at their school. 

Congratulations to (School Recognition Award) Cannon Black ’26, Nate Blan ’26, Avery Bleich ’26, Charles Cady ’27, Courtney Comeaux ’26, Luci Gonzalez ’26, GiGi Helling ’26, Sean Hong ’27, Andrew Lobo ’26, William Marlow ’26, Paxtyn McPeak ’26, Brooklyn Ogozalik ’26, Eliza Peacock ’26, Adam Rafati ’26, Samantha Saade ’26, Hailey Seiden ’26, Kerri Tsai ’26, Akshay Vasudevan ’26, Blake Wood ’27 (First-Generation Recognition Award) Esteban Gomez ’26, Sophia Jiang ’26, Rayden Liddell ’27 and Sebastian Zelaya ’27.