According to the 2017 National Merit® Scholarship Program, Lam and Mantaro are two of 16,000 semi-finalists across the country who were notified of their advancement to finalist status this month.  Finalists are selected upon review of their abilities, skills and accomplishments.  They were named semi-finalists in September 2016 and were responsible for submitting additional applications that include details on their leadership and extracurricular activities, academic records, school recommendations and personal essays.

Lourdes Principal, Catherine Merryman remarks, “We are thrilled for these students.  They are both scholars and incredible role models for all that we strive to achieve each day here at Lourdes.  In recent years, typically one of our students reach this milestone, so to have two this year is a notable achievement.  Emily and Andrew are hard-working, well-rounded individuals with great ambition.  We are incredibly proud of them.”

Lam, a Fishkill resident attended St. Mary’s School in Fishkill prior to Our Lady of Lourdes High School.  He is an active member of the National Honor Society, Math Team, Track & Field and Cross Country teams. He plans to study Neuroscience in college. Mantaro is a Poughkeepsie resident and former student from St. Martin de Porres School.  Also an active member of National Honor Society, she commits her time to the Mock Trial Team, News & Views, the school Newspaper and Literary Magazine.  She has played Varsity Field Hockey and Lacrosse.  She plans to study History in college.