Two Lakeville South Students Named National Merit Scholars

For Megan Olsen and Wesley Brand, it’s not hard to stand out at , despite the fact that there nearly 1,900 students at their school. Both students have excelled academically, and have full schedules that include sports and after-school activities. But what they really love most is learning.

“I’m really good at memorizing things, but I also love thinking things through logically,” Brand said. “I’ve always been a good test-taker, and I can reason things out quickly.”

“You really need to be able to focus well,” Olsen said. “But I just love to learn, It really doesn’t matter what the subject is.

The National Merit Scholarship program, which recently awarded Olsen and Brand with its prestigious National Merit Scholar designation, began in 1955. Students enter the program by taking the PSAT their sophomore year. The test serves as the initial screening for approximately 1.5 million entrants. Of that total, 34,000 students receive letters of commendation for their outstanding academic promise. Lakeville South produced three winners in that category: Meghan Barry, Ethan Kapler and Taylor Vonasek. From the original 1.5 million, 15,000 students are honored as National Merit Finalists, and 8,400 are chosen as National Merit Scholars. 

Once Olsen and Brand received the honor, word spread quickly.

“I was already getting tons of spam from colleges, but then I got a lot more after I got the award,” Brand said. 

Both Olsen and Brand keep busy with activities outside the classroom. Olsen is on the track and field team and participates in Cougars Leading Cougars. Brand spends his extra-curricular time with the swim and debate teams. Both students are also in the National Honor Society.

Ninth grade dean, John Boche, said Lakeville South has a history of producing National Merit Scholars, and the number of scholars this year and in the past are pretty much on par with other area high schools of the same size. He also said it’s not uncommon for colleges to entice award winners to apply. 

“The more prestigious schools will bill themselves based on their number of National Merit Scholars,” Boche said. “It’s one of the ways they advertise to try to get top students to attend. It’s really a big honor.”

Both students applied to a number of colleges and universities large and small, but they’re pretty much settled on their plans. Wesley Brand plans to attend the University of Minnesota Morris, where he has received a full scholarship. At this point, he is interested in studying philosophy and physics. He said he plans to continue on to graduate school. Megan Olsen says she’s still making her final decision, but would like to attend Northwestern University on scholarship, where she hopes to study political science and art history. 

When asked what they like the most about Lakeville South High School, both students agreed that the teachers and academic offerings have been important elements of their success.

“My favorite thing about South is that there are so many AP classes. Those classes really take kids to the next level,” Olsen said. “We also have a lot of teachers that are really passionate about what they teach, especially junior and senior year, and I appreciate that a lot.”

So are there any other perks that go along with being a National Merit Scholar?

“Well, it makes your parents really proud,” Olsen said.