Student's work pays off with merit recognition

When Riley Knight, a senior at Cape Girardeau Central High School, was pulled into the school office, she wondered what she had done wrong. Why else would the principal, vice principal, counselor and teacher all need to speak with her in the room that is often used to reprimand students? As it turned out, Knight was there to be praised for being named a semifinalist for the 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program.

Knight is a leader inside and outside the classroom. In school, she maintains high grades, which have earned her standing as an honor student, but she is also captain of the dance team and president of the school's theater and drama club. Outside of school, Knight works for Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department as a lifeguard and is employed by Cape Splash and the Central Municipal Pool.

"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 told the Southeast Missourian's Logan Young.

The next step in the National Merit Scholarship process is to submit the application this week to become a finalist. Her hopes are already set on attending Vanderbilt University or Georgia Institute of Technology to major in biomolecular engineering, so being named a finalist would be a blessing, as scholarships are waiting to be meted out.

What Riley Knight has accomplished is worthy of admiration. We wish her well. She has already proven herself to be a success.