DSHS senior named National Merit Semifinalist

Dripping Springs High School senior Mitchell Bockelman has been selected as a National Merit semifinalist in the 66th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Semifinalists represent less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, and were the highestscoring students on the 2019 Preliminary SAT/ National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

The son of Erika and David Bockelman, Mitchell has an outstanding academic record, including numerous AP and pre-AP courses. He has played baseball since age 6, and has been in a starting role every year in high school. Mitchell earned academic all-district honors in baseball as a junior. He plans to major in computer science in college and hopes to continue his baseball playing career, but has not yet decided on a university.

To become a National Merit finalist, a student must have an outstanding high school academic record, be recommended by the school principal, and submit SAT scores that confirm his/her earlier qualifying test performance. The index score in the state of Texas (which is how students qualify) was at an all-time high. Finalists will be announced in February 2021.