Affton High Senior Named National Merit Finalist

Affton High School senior Anjuli Farha has been named a Finalist in the 58th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.

Scoring 215 on her PSAT, which falls within the 99th percentile, Farha went on to score 2090 on the SAT and 34 on the ACT. She is ranked third in her class at Affton High School, and dually attends South Technical High School, where she studies Broadcast Captioning and Court Reporting. Farha strives to attend Meramec Community College, and then plans to become a court reporter.

"I like being able to come out of high school with a skill and already halfway through (court reporter training)," Farha said. "I like the kind of job where I put on my professional clothes and grab my Starbucks and go to work."

Farha said she was "really excited" to be named a finalist but admits she didn't realize it was "such a big deal" until school administrators and media joined her in the school library for the announcement.

Dan Polokonis, who has taught Farha the past two years in Honors PreCalculus and Honors AP Calculus, called Farha "naturally gifted, intellectually curious, and extremely motivated. 

“She excels in her classes, but what puts her apart from her peers is her interest in relentlessly pursuing the most challenging problems, even if they take hours.”

Farha is one of approximately 15,000 students nationwide to be named a Finalist, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors. The National Merit Scholarship Program honors students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies, according to the program. Farha now has the opportunity to continue in the competition for National Merit scholarships that will be offered this spring.

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