CHS students from left: Jacob Benoit, Jaya Jost, Abigail Pearson and Alexis Herndon received a letter of commendation recognizing their exceptional academic promise from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. Photo courtesy of CUSD Public Information Officer Maria Simon.

Coronado High School Principal Karin Mellina announced that Jacob R. Benoit, Alexis L. Herndon, Jaya M. Jost and Abigail D. Pearson have been named commended students in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program.

A Letter of Commendation from the school and National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), which conducts the program, will be presented to these scholastically talented seniors. 

“On behalf of our CHS faculty and staff we congratulate these outstanding students, said Mellina. “I am incredibly proud of each of them and know they will go on to do great things after they leave our campus. It is an honor to call them Islanders.”

About 34,000 commended students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Although they will not continue in the 2025 competition for National Merit Scholarship awards, commended students placed among the top 50,000 students who entered the 2025 competition by taking the 2023 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. 

“Those being named commended students have demonstrated outstanding potential for academic success,” commented a 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 education excellence in our nation. We hope that this recognition will help broaden their education opportunities and encourage them as they continue their pursuit of academic success.”

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