DSHS senior named National Merit semifinalist

Dripping Springs High School senior James Mihic has been named a National Merit Semifinalist in the 67th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Semifinalists represent less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, and were the highest-scoring students on the 2020 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

The son of Helen and John Mihic, James is a twotime state DECA finalist as part of the Sports and Entertainment Marketing Team. He was named an AP Scholar in November 2020 after scoring a 3 or higher on three or more AP exams. In 2021, James earned a certification in Entrepreneurship and Small Business through the high school CTE (Career and Technology Education) program. James also competed in cross country and track for the Tigers, and was a two-year member of the DSHS debate team. He has not yet decided on a major or where he will attend college.

To become a National Merit finalist, a student must have an outstanding high school academic record, be recommended by the school principal, write an essay, and submit SAT or ACT scores that confirm the student’s earlier qualifying test performance. Finalists will be announced in February 2022.