MANSFIELD — History is repeating itself at Mansfield Christian School.
Joel Golias, a senior, has been named a finalist in the 63rd annual National Merit Scholarship Program. His teacher and MCS alum Nyssa Tucker achieved the same feat 30 years prior when she was a student.
Golias joins a prestigious elite. Less than one percent of the approximately 1.6 million entrants are selected as finalists.
High school students enter the National Merit Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), usually as juniors.
About 16,000 students qualify as semifinalists. Golias was just one of two semifinalists in Richland County this school year.
In February, some 15,000 semifinalists are notified that they have advanced to finalist standing.
Golias said he was ecstatic when he heard the news.
“I’m very thankful that God gave me this great testing mind,” he said.
Beginning in March, NMSC notifies approximately 7,500 finalists that they have been selected to receive a Merit Scholarship award.
Golias may attend the University of Cincinnati, which offers a scholarship that covers the cost of in-state tuition and fees specifically for National Merit Scholarship Program Finalists. Other schools on his radar are The Ohio State University, University of Akron and University of Kentucky.
He plans to major in mechanical engineering.
Tucker, who teaches mathematics courses as an adjunct professor at North Central State College, said Golias is one of the brightest students she’s ever taught.
Golias has taken pre-calculus and calculus classes from Tucker via College Credit Plus.
“He keeps me on my toes,” Tucker said. “If I make any kind of a mistake he catches it.
“He has that character balance to his intellect that is really neat to see.”
In addition to his studies, the 17-year-old keeps busy with other activities. He played soccer in the fall and is gearing up for baseball in the spring. He’s also part of the school’s show choir, academic challenge and Berean Baptist Church’s youth band. On Wednesdays he tutors at Malabar Middle School.
In 2014, he helped Stellar Robotics bring home a victory. Three years later he helped his school’s academic challenge team win a spot at the Ohio Academic Competition.
