Spears named National Merit Finalist

Ashley Spears hasn’t graduated from high school, but she’s already a scholar.

The Andalusia High School senior was recently chosen as a finalist in the National Merit Scholarship Program. She is one of 15,000 finalists.

“It feels pretty good,” Spears said when asked about receiving her recognition.

The National Merit Scholarship Program is a non-profit organization that honors that nation’s scholastic champions and encourages the pursuit of academic excellence.

Spears said she was contacted about being a finalist back in February.

“I pretty much knew already because they send rejection letters out first,” she said.

In order to get picked as a finalist, Spears had to fill out an application online, which included an essay. Additionally, she had to make a certain score on the SAT and get a recommendation from a school official.

Spears wrote her essay on a subject she picked for a paper in English class — a program she went to this summer at the University of Alabama about rural health medicine.

As a result of being a finalist, Spears will attend the University of Alabama tuition free for four years, and will receive $2,000 for a study abroad opportunity. She said she wants to study in England.

When asked what’s next as far as the national merit program, Spears said she’ll know whether she was picked as a winner in late May or during the summer.

“They pick people for corporate scholarships, but I’m going to get a scholarship from Alabama since I was accepted there,” she said. “That pretty much makes me a scholar already, I think.”

Spears isn’t the only scholar in her family.

Her sister, Grace, was chosen as a National Merit Scholarship winner in 2011. Grace, who also went to UA, has been accepted into medical school.

Spears said she hopes to follow in her sister’s footsteps.

Spears said she will major in psychology with a minor in chemistry at UA.

She is the daughter of Dale and Laura Spears of Andalusia.