Hallie Kretsinger has made her former principal feel like an acrobat. Kretsinger, who graduated in May from Emporia High School, has been awarded a National Merit Washington University in St. Louis Scholarship.
“If I could do a back handspring, I’d gladly do it,” said EHS Principal Scott Sheldon. “I’m so happy for her and so proud of all of the hard work that she’s put into realizing this award. It’s just a tribute to her and how hard she’s worked.”
Sheldon said that Kretsinger had fulfilled all of the expectations of her teachers, who had helped her along the way.
An announcement from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation stated that Kretsinger had received a college-sponsored Merit Scholarship. She is the daughter of Mary and Brock Kretsinger.
Kretsinger said that she had been notified of several scholarships in the spring, as she was trying to decide which college or university she would attend.
“There were a few that I didn’t get, so I was trying to make sure I found out about the rest of them,” Kretsinger said. “Then later on, I received several, a couple of smaller ones.”
Notification of the Merit Scholarship came to her before the organization released names to the public.
Kretsinger’s mother, Mary, was pleased that their daughter had been awarded yet another scholarship. So far she has received a Robert C. Byrd Scholarship for $6,000 from the U.S. Department of Education, as well as scholarships from Discover Card, Best Buy and others.
“She’s done really well,” Mary Kretsinger said. “They all help.”
Kretsinger earlier had been named a finalist for the National Merit Scholarship. She was one of 16,000 semifinalists who competed for scholarships valued at a total of $34 million. College-sponsored awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution that awarded the scholarship, the announcement stated.
Officials at each sponsoring college select the winners who will attend their institutions from finalists in the National Merit Scholarship program. Kretsinger had listed science as her probable major.
“She’s going to be a success whatever she decides to do,” Sheldon said.