Two Abilene ISD seniors have been named Semifinalists in the 2019 National Merit Scholarship Program.
Feisi “Faith” Fang of the Academy of Technology, Engineering, Math & Science (ATEMS) and Lauren Hampton of Abilene High School will continue in the competition for National Merit Scholarship awards that will be offered next spring. Finalists will be announced in February 2019.
Representing less than 1% of high school seniors, national Semifinalists include the highest scoring entrants from each state on the 2017 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Only 16,000 of the 1.6 million high school students who entered the National Merit program achieve Semifinalist standing.
Faith Fang
Fang, who is the first ATEMS student to achieve Semifinalist standing since the school opened in 2009, is the daughter of Benli Xi and Berlin Fang. She is an AP Scholar with Distinction who also excels in orchestra, earning a coveted spot in the 2018 Texas All-State Orchestra. She also performs for AISD’s popular Revolution Strings ensemble and has been named an Outstanding Performer in the UIL State Solo & Ensemble Competition and a three-time Texas Music Scholar. Fang serves as the Student Council President of ATEMS and is a member of the National Honor Society and UIL Mathematics team. She is considering attending Baylor University, Yale University and Johns Hopkins University with probable fields of study including music performance, mathematics and psychology.
Lauren Hampton
Hampton, daughter of Derek and April Hampton, is also accomplished in academics and music at AHS. She is an AP Scholar with Distinction and a member of the National Honor Society. As a member of the AHS choir program, she has qualified for the UIL State Solo & Ensemble Competition and earned Texas Music Scholar awards in all three years of high school. Hampton says she is currently applying to eight colleges but has yet to narrow her list of choices. She is considering statistics as a field of study with a minor in English or history.
