Poway Bears do more than roar. Future Brown University Bear Kaitlyn Chan and UCLA Bruins Lainie Carter and Kelly Courvrette represent Poway High this year as a part of The National Merit and Commended Scholarship program. 

The National Merit Scholarship program honors the top students in each individual state’s academic excellence on the Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test (PSAT).  It is the highest academic achievement that a High Schooler can earn.

California is one of the most competitive states in The National Merit Scholarship Program, Senior Kaitlyn Chan, is a National Merit Scholar this year. She scored 1490/1520 on the PSAT. Chan received scholarship money that she is putting toward her fall tuition at Brown University.

  She worked extremely hard to prepare for the PSAT by taking online practice tests for the SAT (since the PSAT and SAT are similar in format), using review books, and even taking a PSAT review class. 

She is dedicated to the pursuit of academic excellence by being enrolled in various Advanced Placement courses, she is a Titan Ambassador, and she is also committed to giving back to the community as the President of the National Honors Society. 

Chan will be attending Brown in the fall and hopes that in four years she will be moving onto medical school to become a doctor. Being a doctor has been a goal for Chan her entire life.

“Since the cutout for the National Merit Scholarship Program is a little different each year depending on the curve, I didn’t know if I was going to make the cut or not. It was definitely a nice surprise when I found out that I was named a semi-finalist, and later on a finalist,” Chan said. 

Two seniors Lainie Carter and Kelly Couvrette, are honored as members of The Commended National Scholarship Program. The Commended National Scholarship Program is the program that honors about 34,000 of 50,000 students who score high on the PSAT. This program is for individuals who scored incredibly high on The PSAT, but didn’t quite reach the quota required to be a National Merit Scholar. 

Carter is extremely involved on campus as a Titan Ambassador, varsity cheer captain, and top scholar. She will attend University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) in the fall and she has big hopes for her future.

“In four years, I see myself attending medical school after graduating with a degree in biology from UCLA. Hopefully, I will be involved in the community too because helping kids is my biggest passion in life and my dream job is to become a pediatrician after I finish school,” Carter said. 

Couvrette is also a dedicated member of the Titan family. Throughout her time at Poway High, she has been involved in the varsity girls’ water polo team, she is a Titan Ambassador, and she is a member of National Charity League; a mother-daughter community service association dedicated to giving back to the community. She will also be attending UCLA in the fall.

Couvrette had a more relaxed approach than Chan when it came to preparing for the PSAT.

“I am personally against major test prep, so I just stayed calm prior to the test and gave it my all,” Couvrette said.

 Not only are these three ladies incredibly smart, but they also put their hearts into boosting the confidence of little kids throughout Poway elementary schools by being a part of the Titan Ambassador program. 

Chan, Couvrette, and Carter are filled with so much joy when getting to meet one on one with their elementary school students. 

After school, one sunny Tuesday afternoon, Chan, Couvrette, and Carter raced to their laptops and logged in to Zoom with excitement to get to see their favorite elementary school students.