Orcas Island High School has announced that Maya Heikkinen and Ewan Lister have been named as Commended Students in the National Merit Scholarship Program. A Letter of Commendation from the school and National Merit Corporation, which conducts the program has been presented to these scholastically talented seniors.

About 34,000 commended students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. These commended students placed among the top 50,000 scorers of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2020 competition by taking the 2018 Preliminary SAT.

“Those being named Commended Students have demonstrated outstanding potential for academic success,” according to the spokesperson for NMSC. “These students represent a valuable national resource; recognizing their accomplishments, as well as the key role their schools play in their academic development, is vital to the advancement of educational excellence in our nation. We hope that this recognition will help broaden their educational opportunities and encourage them as they continue their pursuit of academic success.”