For the first time in school history, a student from Kingsley High School has been named a National Merit Semifinalist. Kingsley Area Schools announced the news earlier this week.

The student in question may look familiar to Ticker readers. This past summer, we wrote about Anna Bauer, a Kingsley senior who spent her summer earning her Private Pilot’s License at the eight-week Commander Naval Air Forces (CNAF) Flight Academy program at Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina. Bauer has a cumulative 4.0 GPA and is ranked first in her class at Kingsley High School, and also serves as a student representative on the Kingsley school board.

According to Kingsley’s announcement of the news, the National Merit Semifinalist honor places Bauer “in the top 1 percent of high schoolers nationwide.” More than 1.3 million students submitted an application to the program this year, with just 16,000 earning the semifinalist designation. Only 472 Michigan students are National Merit Semifinalists this year.

Being part of that exclusive group gives Bauer “the chance to compete for nearly 7,000 scholarships totaling $26 million,” per the Kingsley Schools release. “95 percent of semifinalists will achieve finalist standing, and half will win a scholarship.” Finalists will be announced in February, the scholarship awards will be announced next spring.

Two other Kingsley High School students, Katelyn Bennett and Ryan Welke, were named National Merit Commended Students.