St. Aloysius senior Jacob Kitchens, 17, has been named a semifinalist in the National Merit Program.

He was chosen among 16,000 other students in the country based on his Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test scores.

Kitchens, the son of Steve and Teresa Kitchens, is involved in many extracurricular activities in the school including the robotics club where he is the mechanical captain. He is also a member of Mu Alpha Theta, Key Club, environmental club, the Quiz Bowl team, the math and science team and he is also right guard on the football team.

The robotics team ranked 1^st in the Redstick Rumble Competition — an event sponsored by NASA where students from around the country compete in events where their robots are tested for dexterity and maneuverability.

Kitchens said he is excited about being named a semifinalist.

“It’s awesome because it’s going to help pay for college,” he said.

He added that he was thankful to the school for offering a test prep class. He said that helped him do well on the test.

Lisa Reid, senior academic advisor and chairman of the English department, said students are required to take the test prep class either in their sophomore or junior year.

“It’s a skill. They need to practice,” Reid said.

Reid said Kitchens is gifted in many subjects.

“He’s an extraordinarily gifted student — Especially in science and math,” she said.

Kitchens is applying to nine colleges and said he wants to build robots for NASA or the military.

“I’ve always enjoyed space and wanted to learn more about it. I like the idea of building things that go into space,” he said.

There is a lot of work that goes into working to be a finalist in the Merit Scholarship program.

Approximately 1.5 million students in 22,000 U.S. schools enter the National Merit program. Of those entrants, 16,000 are selected as National Merit Semifinalists. Semifinalists represent the top 1 percent of their state’s high school seniors.

Then there will be about 8,000 Merit Scholarship winners and the other 34,000 are commended students.

There is one commended student at St. Al and that is 16-year-old senior, Luke Eckstein.

After being selected as a semifinalist, they undergo an application process to become a National Merit Finalist.

They have to take the SAT and make a qualifying score, have an outstanding academic record, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official and submit an application that details their high school activities and includes a self-descriptive essay.

In February, 15,000 seniors will be named finalists.

Reid said Kitchens is working on his essay and studying for the SAT.

There are many benefits that come along with being a semifinalist and a finalist.

“Colleges and universities are very interested in recruiting these students. They tend to offer scholarships,” Reid said.