By Staff
Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
Hartselle High School's latest Merit semifinalist is senior Laura Davis, daughter of Dr. John and Jean-Marie Davis of Hartselle. He is a practicing psychiatrist and she is school nurse at the high school.
Davis said she learned last month that her PSAT score was high enough to qualify her as a semifinalist in the 2007-08 National Merit Scholarship Program. She took the test in October of her junior year and was notified the following April that her score was high enough to keep her in the competition. Merit finalists will be announced next January or February.
"I was so excited," she said. "It made me proud of myself and I felt very honored. It's something that will help me gain admission to a good university, increase my chances of getting scholarship assistance and have a positive effect on my school."
Davis plans to seek admission to Princeton University and pursue a career in medicine. Vanderbilt University is her second choice,
"School work has always been easy for me," Davis said. "I'm very blessed in that respect, especially in the areas of math and science. Education has always been treated as a matter of interest and emphasis in our home and I am especially indebted to my father for all of the support and help he has given me."
Davis said she learned a lot about college life last summer as a student who attended a six-weeks college preparatory course in pre-med and engineering at Vanderbilt University.
"We lived in student dormitories and had 8 a.m. classes," she said.
Laura scored 33 on the SAT as a junior and had a 4.06 grade point average entering her senior year. She is a member of the National Honor Society, Scholars Bowl and Science Olympiad teams and is president of S.A.A.D. When she's not in class or doing homework she enjoys playing a guitar and tutoring high school students two days a week.
She has two younger sisters, Samantha, 14, and Natalie,10.
Her advice to younger students is to "find out what you are good at and stay focused on that. Stay open and don't be afraid to get out of the box. Above everything else, give it your best shot."