They are in a class by themselves.
Two James Caldwell high school seniors have reached the pinnacle of academic achievement, and become national merit scholar finalists.
Tyler McKechnie and Lucy Weinman were lauded at the regularly scheduled board of education meeting for the Caldwell – West Caldwell district Tuesday night.
Tyler, who is the valedictorian for his 2010 graduating class, is a jack of all trades.
Besides racking up a whopping 98.3 average – well above a 4.0 – he also earned a 2280 on his SAT scores.
And, last weekend, this young Renaissance man also did something out of this world – he portrayed the comical, dancing role of Bishop Henry T. Dodson in the Mount St. Dominic Academy production of the Cole Porter musical, ‘Anything Goes’.
Asked which college he has his eyes on, Tyler said he wasn’t sure quite yet.
As per having a strong case of the acting bug, he said “I really love theatre.”
Musing about his impressive academic scores, he said it was a lot of work.
“It seems like it took a long time,” said Tyler. “We started this with our PSATs in our junior year.”
Lucy, who has a score of 2300 in her SATs, said she plans to major in science.
“I want to major in biology,” she said.
But once again, this young scholar also has a flair for the arts.
“I play in a band that performs 1920’s and 1930’s jazz,” Lucy said, smiling.
And, this band, the Tent Jazz Band, is a family affair.
“My dad is in the band too,” she added.
Perhaps the secret to these students success is their well rounded approach to life, and their knack for incorporating not only math and English but also theatre and music in their lives.
Caldwell – West Caldwell superintendent of schools Dr. Daniel Gerardi said these two seniors are examples of successful students and shining starts in the district.
“Less than 1 percent of students in the United States receive this honor,” he said.
In a few weeks, the National Merit Society will announce the winners of their scholarships.
“They award in total about $81,000 dollars,” said Gerardi.
Congratulations to these two dynamic and creative students.

Information from the Merit Scholar Awards website:
Types of Merit Scholarship® Awards

About 1.5 millions students apply for this award.

Beginning in March and continuing to mid-June, NMSC notifies approximately 8,200 Finalists at their home addresses that they have been selected to receive a Merit Scholarship® award. Merit Scholarship awards are of three types:

* National Merit® $2500 Scholarships
Every Finalist competes for these single payment scholarships, which are awarded on a state representational basis. Winners are selected without consideration of family financial circumstances, college choice, or major and career plans.
* Corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards
Corporate sponsors designate their awards for children of their employees or members, for residents of a community where a company has operations, or for Finalists with career plans the sponsor wishes to encourage. These scholarships may either be renewable for four years of undergraduate study or one-time awards.
* College-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards
Officials of each sponsor college select winners of their awards from Finalists who have been accepted for admission and have informed NMSC by the published deadlines that the sponsor college or university is their first choice. These awards are renewable for up to four years of undergraduate study. The published deadlines for reporting a sponsor college as first choice can be viewed on page 3 of the leaflet Requirements and Instructions for Semifinalists in the 2010 National Merit® Scholarship Program. (Adobe Acrobat Reader is required.)