By: Reporters Hannah Sopel and Nicole Stratton 

The National Merit Scholarship Award was given to three seniors from NHS earlier this year as a prize for their high test scores on the PSAT.

These seniors were Clara Lambrecht, Addie Zwick and Margaret Zwick. Unlike other scholarship winners, they did not have to apply for theirs. The requirements were that they had to allow their score to be viewed in part of the competition, and their score had to be at least 208 (this minimum score varies in other states).

These recipients’ reactions to winning the scholarship were quite different, however. Lambrecht described herself as shocked. “I knew I was smart, but I’ve always surrounded myself with people like me, so I never thought much of it,” Lambrecht said.

The Zwick twins, though, were more expectant, as they had been working hard to receive this award. They explained that they were not shocked, but pleased for the security for their college future.

All three seniors have been filling their schedules with somewhat alike classes in their high school years. They all have been taking AP classes to avoid them in later years in college.

Lambrecht hopes to become a teacher for middle school math. She has a plan to go to North Central Mapleville, Ill., but is also interested in UW-Eau Claire. The Zwicks have similar interests for post-high school plans, but they have decided that they want to go to different schools to allow themselves to be individuals. They are both serious about dancing professionally as a career, as dancing is already a large part in both of their lives. Language is another thing they would like to study. Their highest picks for school are Indiana University, Oklahoma University, Utah University and South Carolina University.