Mills places in top 5 percent of scholarship qualifying test

The wait is on for Churchill County High School senior Rebecca Mills, who was named a commended student in the 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program.

The notification stage notifies students of their achievement, and Mills said subsequent steps will determine if she receives scholarship money.

According to the National Merit program, about 34,000 commended Students throughout the United States have been recognized for their academic promise. Mills placed in the top 5 percent of more than 1.5 millions students who entered the 2016 competition. Students are selected based on their scores from the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

Mills said she is excited for the opportunity to compete for a scholarship. She currently serves as president of the National Honor Society at CCHS and captain of the Academic Team, which finished second last year in its district.

Furthermore, Mills has taken a rigorous schedule. This year she is enrolled in Advanced Placement English, statistics, calculus and government. Last year she took AP Chemistry and AP U.S. History.

Mills, though, admits she has an “artsy” side to her as well. She is enrolled in a basic graphic design 2 class and was a recent winner in a poster-making contest for the local U.S. Army recruiters. She is involved in orchestra and ceramics.

Principal Kevin Lords praised Mills’ achievements.

“Rebecca is a great example of the types of students we have at CCHS,” Lords said. “She excels academically but more importantly she is a young woman of high character and integrity. Rebecca has enrolled in the advanced placement (AP) courses at CCHS and her performance is exceptional.”

Mills said she plans to study engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno and also earn a bachelor’s degree in graphic design.

After her university studies, Mills would like to “travel the world” like her older sister, Rachel, who traveled to Afghanistan and Morocco.