Bensalem High School seniors Ruo (Lucy) Chen and Yogesh Patel have been named “Commended Students” in the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program.
A Letter of Commendation from the school and National Merit Scholarship Corporation, which conducts the program, will be presented to these scholastically talented seniors. Commended Students are named on the basis of a nationally applied Selection Index score that may vary from year to year and is typically below the level required for participants to be named Semifinalists in their respective states. Although Commended Students do not continue in the competition for National Merit Scholarships, some of these students do become candidates for Special Scholarships sponsored by corporations and businesses.
Chen has been a principal’s list honor roll student throughout high school. She is a member of the girls’ tennis team, Student Government Association, Multicultural Club, Blue Crew and Lemon Club. Her hobbies include dancing, reading, FaceTiming with friends and hanging out when possible. She plans to major in International Business and study abroad in Europe and/or Asia.
Patel is a distinguished honor roll and principal’s list student. He is a member of DECA, Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science, SeaPerch and National Honor Society. Out of school, Patel enjoys playing video games and basketball, drawing and watching movies. He plans to earn a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and work as a software engineer for a major tech company.
Senior Brandon Rodriguez has been recognized as a National Hispanic Scholar in the College Board National Recognition Program. He scored in the top 2.5 percent of PSAT/NMSQT test takers who identify as one or more of the following: African American, Hispanic American or Latinx, Indigenous; or attend school in a rural area, or are from a small town.
An award letter and certificate of recognition was presented to this scholastically talented senior. Participation in the CBRP is completely free of charge and enables students to highlight their outstanding educational achievements to top colleges and universities.
Rodriguez is a member of Robotics, Mathletes, Multicultural Club and Building Bridges. His hobbies and out of school activities include weight training, working at Walmart and hanging out with friends. He plans on majoring in mathematics and possibly pursuing a career in either economics or secondary/postsecondary education.
