TORRINGTON – Earlier this month, officials at the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced a Torrington High School senior is one of approximately 16,000 semifinalists nationwide in the 63rd annual National Merit Scholarship Program.
In order to qualify for the award, Ethan Creagar had to take the PSAT (preliminary SAT) and meet specific standards. Creagar earned a score in the 99th percentile – meaning he scored better than 99 percent of the people who took the test – more than guaranteeing him a spot as a semi-finalist.
“Now I have to write an essay and take the SAT in October,” Creagar said. “And it’s based on those whether I advance (to become a finalist).”
NMSC, a not-for-profit organization, which honors the nation’s scholastic champions and encourages the pursuit of academic excellence, estimates 1.6 million students took the PSAT in hopes of advancing in the program.
Creagar’s score quickly put him on the radar of prestigious educational institutions across America – he’s received informational packets, posters, stickers, flying discs and more from colleges including Yale, Harvard, Princeton and Cornell University. Between three and four colleges contact Creagar via mail every day.
“That’s probably been the craziest part,” Creagar said.
He learned he’d made the semi-finalist cut from his mother, Ellen, at a tennis match in Cheyenne. The news came in an email from THS principal Cedric Cooper.
“I was really happy,” Creagar said. “Maybe not as surprised as I was excited.”
Creagar comes from a family that keeps academia at the forefront. Both of Creagar’s parents are instructors at Eastern Wyoming College, and his sister, Molly, received valedictorian honors at THS and was also named a semi-finalist for the National Merit Scholarship.
“THS has just been so outstanding for all our kids,” Ellen said. “We just support them in school and, from the beginning, they’ve understood the reason they’re in school is academics … (we emphasize) you need to be prepared for opportunities – your academic preparation at any point has to be good enough so that when you see an opportunity you want, you can grab it.”
Creagar spoke highly of THS math teacher John Kelly, as well as English instructor Lyle Wiley, describing the men as mentors and “anchors” in his education.
When he’s not studying, Creagar enjoys various extracurricular activities and volunteer work.
“I play tennis, basketball and soccer at THS,” he said. “I’m in NHS (National Honor Society), Spanish NHS, Leadership, FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes), and I volunteer at the (Goshen County) Backpack Program.”
Creagar also enjoys music and sings with an a cappella group and plays guitar with the local jazz band.
“I also like fishing and outdoor stuff,” he said.
Creagar’s honors include all-state tennis, a perennial spot on the THS gold honor roll, and, of course, advancing to semi-finalist status with the NMSC.
“This is maybe the biggest academic honor I’ve gotten,” he said.
National Merit Scholarship winners of 2018 will be announced in four nationwide news releases beginning in April and concluding in July. These scholarship recipients will join more than 330,000 other distinguished young people who have earned the Merit Scholar title, according to a press release.
For now, and despite the ever-growing stack of college recruiting materials, Creagar is keeping his future options open and focusing on earning a National Merit Scholarship.
“I don’t have plans really yet – I haven’t made any big decisions,” he said. “Mostly, I want to continue my education find something that I enjoy doing and do it as well as I can.
“It’ll be a while until I figure it out,” Creagar continued. “But hopefully, I’ll do my best on everything.”
