The National Merit Scholarship Program is a program that recognizes and supports academic excellence, based on students’ performance on the PSAT/NMSQT (Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test). Graduating seniors who score in the top 1% of their state are identified as National Merit Semifinalists, and following a selection process that includes an essay, a select number of them are awarded National Merit Scholarships. 

This year, seven students from Rock Hill have qualified as National Merit Semifinalists, one of them being Ethan Horsley. 

“The National Merit program is important to me because it represents the accumulation of a lot of work I’ve done in the past years,” Horsley said. “All the work you do in English classes, math classes, science classes, social studies classes– it all kind of accumulates on your performance on these standardized tests. So I was really happy to score pretty good.”

Rock Hill offers an exclusive PSAT/SAT prep class, with approximately 40 students invited to join, and this resource proved to be instrumental in Horsley’s journey.

“I was offered to come join in at the end of my sophomore year,” Horsley said. “I joined that class and we did a bunch of practice tests. So I got a bunch of help from Ms. Cheng and Mr. Harrell, my PSAT prep teachers.”

Success is seldom a solo act. Horsley acknowledges that the contributions of certain individuals have played a significant role in his achievements. 

“I’d say another teacher is Mrs. Javandoost,” Horsley said. “She actually is at Walnut Grove now. I had her freshman year, sophomore year, and junior year. She helped me progress as a writer and definitely helped a lot on the PSAT. Beyond that, obviously just my family, my mom and dad. I have three siblings: two sisters, and my brother. They’ve definitely helped me a ton.”

Along with being a scholar, Horsley has been the principal cellist for All-District orchestra twice and has won a state award in a UIL State Solo and Ensemble contest.

“I’ve been in orchestra every year throughout high school,” Horsley said. “I love playing with everyone. It’s a lot of fun.”

In addition to his own commitments, Horsley actively engages in training his younger brother in various activities.

“Beyond [orchestra], I train my brother a lot,” Horsley said. “He’s a really good athlete. He does track, swimming, triathlon, and basketball. I like to just train him, and that’s a lot of fun.”

The period after school is an essential time for Horsley, where he manages his responsibilities. Usually, Horsley relaxes for a bit, practices cello for around two hours, and then trains with his brother for one or one and a half hours. After these activities, Horsley shifts his focus to schoolwork. Currently, he ranks first in his class, which demands diligent work in his studies.

“Some nights [schoolwork] can take like four or five hours,” Horsley said. “Some nights it can be like an hour and a half or two.”

With time-consuming extracurricular activities, managing hours becomes a crucial skill for Horsley.

“Balancing those activities with academics is pretty tough,” Horsley said. “If you get two hours behind when you get home, it’s going to be really tough and you’re going to lose some sleep. I like to use the weekends to get caught up and make sure I’m not behind. You just have to manage your time well.”

After graduating high school, Horsley plans on going to college, into the medical field. He plans on applying to T20 schools such as the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and is also considering in-state schools such as the University of Texas at Austin.

“I really want to be a physician of some sort, some sort of doctor,”  Horsley said. “So I’ll probably major in biochemistry, something related to that.”

Horsley’s ambitions extend far beyond academics. He believes in the significance of the Gospel and envisions a future that combines spirituality and medicine.

“What’s most important to me is the Gospel, sharing that with people,” Horsley said. “What I want to do in the future is maybe some kind of international medicine work. Go to different countries, help people out, medically. But also spiritually obviously, because that’s far more important.”

Each year, only around 16,000 students qualify as National Merit Semifinalists, and around 15,000 become finalists.

“There’s only a couple [scholars] in our school district each year so it’s definitely a big honor,” Horsley said. “I’m glad I could represent our school positively.”