Hewes, Holliman Named Commended Students in National Merit Scholarship Program

BILOXI, Miss.- Principal Paul Knapstein is proud to announce that Jack Hewes ’24 and Evan Holliman ’24 have been named Commended Students in the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program. Hewes and Holliman are two of 34,000 students from across the nation being recognized as Commended Students for their exceptional academic promises. They both scored at or above the Commended Student Selection Index score.  

“It is such an honor for our school to have a National Merit Semifinalist and two Commended Students this year,” Principal Knapstein said. “We are grateful for the level of hard work and dedication these students have put into their studies and we are proud to see their accomplishments.”

Students entered the National Merit Scholarship Program, a nationwide competition for recognition and award conducted by National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), by taking the 2022 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) offered in October 2022 and January 2023. In April, NMSC identified the 50,000 highest scorers and notified their high schools. Some 16,000 of those high performers were recently designated Semifinalists on a state representational basis. The other 34,000 were named Commended Students.

After graduation Hewes plans to attend Louisiana State University and major in Biology/ Pre-medicine. Holliman plans to attend Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and major in Astronautical Engineering. 

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St. Patrick Catholic High School is a faith-based, college preparatory high school in Biloxi, Mississippi, and named a National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education in 2019. Established in 2007, St. Patrick is the premier secondary educational institution in South Mississippi and strives each day to Educate Scholars, Train Disciples, and Support Champions. St. Patrick is proud to report a 100% college matriculation rate, ACT and SAT scores that far exceed the state and national averages, and a rich history of Catholic education founded in the traditional roots of our legacy schools of St. John High School, Mercy Cross High School, Notre Dame High School, and Sacred Heart Academy.