Cape Central senior named National Merit semifinalist

Riley Knight, a senior at Cape Girardeau Central High School, has been named a semifinalist for the 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program.

Knight said she is excited, but adds the news she was a semifinalist was completely unexpected.

"It's very surreal and weird. My principal and vice principal and counselor and gifted teacher all decided to trick me and make me think I was in trouble and pull me into the office, and I was mortified," she said with a laugh. "I did not know what was going on, and I hadn't slept, so I was not clued in on it at all."

Knight is not only an honor student at the high school, but also captain of the dance team and president of the school's chapter of the International Thespian Society, a theater and drama club.

She said she is a huge football fan, so she manages the football team as well and films the offensive and defensive lines for her film study.

Last year, she traveled with the team to the state championship game at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis.

"That was one of the coolest things ever of all of high school, just seeing how hard they [the football players] work," she said.

Knight also has participated in seven theatrical shows at the high school. In October, she will perform in her eighth with the school's production of "The Hobbit" at Kinder Performance Hall.

On top of school and extracurricular activities, Knight is a lifeguard for the Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department and works throughout the year at Cape Splash and the Central Municipal Pool, or "The Bubble."

Knight said not all the subjects she studies come easily, but the teaching staff at the high school has made learning fun and interesting.

"One of my absolute favorite things is our English department. Because I am not an English person, I am not going into an English-related major, but the high school kind of re-fostered that love for reading and love for the language to really, really improve my scores and my ability in that area, because it doesn't come naturally to me," she said.

Knight said even though she has had a rigorous schedule throughout her high-school years, seeing results such as being a National Merit Semifinalist make all the hard work worth it.

"It's been insane trying to work through that schedule and trying to keep up with extracurriculars and everything else, and to get a kind of national recognition, I guess, for all of the hard work is finally paying off," she said. "... It does mean something eventually, and it's good to see that. It's good to see the light at the end of the tunnel finally."

Although she has accomplished much, there still is work to be done, and her application to become a National Merit Finalist is due the first week of October.

"It's basically like another college application all over again. It's a different essay, it's about the same length as the one that's on the common [application], and then I guess I get teacher recommendations, and then Mr. Kase's recommendation and the school profile all get sent up," she said.

Once the finalists are chosen, there is a waiting period until the spring for scholarships to be awarded.

About 90 percent of semifinalists are expected to become finalists, and 50 percent of finalists are awarded scholarships and earn the title of Merit Scholar, according to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation's website.

Knight said she is considering Vanderbilt University and the Georgia Institute of Technology after graduation.

She said she wants to major in biomolecular engineering and would like to keep dancing.

"Maybe not dance team, but maybe a club or classes or something, because it's a release for me. Just because I'm going constantly, and even though it's exercise and stuff, I finally feel like I have energy back after dance. So I think that's important for me to keep doing," she said.