Lubbock High senior receives National Merit Scholarship

Expectations were set high for Pretom Shome as he entered high school.

Douglas Young, principal of Lubbock High School, said Shome's older sister was an outstanding student who maintained good grades and went on to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

When he heard one of her siblings was coming to the school where he's worked for 12 years and has been principal for seven, he figured Shome would follow a similar path.

Young hasn't been disappointed.

Shome, a Lubbock High School senior, was named a finalist for a National Merit Scholarship, according to a list released by the National Merit Scholarship Corp. Tuesday afternoon.

"I found out about a month ago that after being a finalist, I was going to get scholarship money, which is pretty uncommon even for a finalist," Shome said. "I was just really excited."

A list of semifinalists was released in September, said Lubbock ISD spokeswoman Nancy Sharp. Five students, including Shome, were on the list: Jonathan R. Welsh and Stanley Yoang of Lubbock High School and Bryla A. Birdwell and Tucker I. Matis of Coronado High School.

National Merit Scholarship recipients must take the PSAT/NMSQT by their junior year of high school, be enrolled as a high school student and plan for full-time enrollment in college in the fall after finishing high school, and they must be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident with intentions to become a citizen, according to the National Merit Scholarship Program webpage.

The selection was a happy surprise for Shome and his family.

"I was the first one in my family to actually get it," he said.

Young said Shome is active on the school's academically competitive teams such as the decathlon team, mock trial team and math and science teams for University Interscholastic League events.

This year, Young said, Shome broke a state record for the most number of points ever awarded to an individual at the state decathlon competition. Students participate in 10 academically challenging events and can score up to 1,000 points in each, he said. Shome scored 9,357.

"He's got brains," Young said.

Shome said he always participates on the school's tennis team and enjoys sports. When he's not focusing on his studies, he likes to volunteer and help others, he said.

"I'm also the vice president of the United Way Youth Division," Shome said.

Young said Shome is a model student, as he knew he would be.

"He's got a good heart," Young said. "I can't say enough good things about Pretom."

Shome was recently accepted to Stanford University where he plans to study engineering and business.

"It's going to help me pay for college, especially given how much prices are rising and rising," he said. "It was just a really big relief to know that a chunk of that is not going to be on my shoulders."

Shome said he's particularly interested in entrepreneurship.

"Stanford was a perfect fit for me," he said. "I hope to one day start my own company."

He's not sure what type of business, yet.

"There's a lot of opportunity in environmental engineering," Shome said. "There's a lot of fluctuation in fuel prices. There is so much more regulation from the government regarding emissions. That's an area where technology still really needs to be developed."

Sharp said finalists are periodically announced throughout the spring and summer.

ellysa.gonzalez@lubbockonline.com

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Source: Lubbock High senior receives National Merit Scholarship