Paducah Tilghman High School senior Paige Lauren Kight has achieved the distinction of National Merit Finalist in the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program. Approximately 1.5 million high school students enter the program each year, with 15,000 high school seniors nationwide named as finalists. These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $30 million, which will be offered this spring.
Kight is a recently named Jack Kent Cooke Foundation College Scholar, an AP Scholar with Distinction, a Paducah Bank Teen of the Week, and has been recognized for receiving a perfect 36 on all sections of the ACT. Through the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation scholar program, she has been involved in extensive summer research and field studies programs at the University of Pennsylvania, Duke University, Northwestern University, Brown University, University of Connecticut, and MIT.
She is Varsity Captain of the Varsity Academic Team, having previously held positions of JV Captain and Varsity Leader, and was named to The Paducah Sun’s inaugural All-District 3 Academic Team. She has won numerous state and regional awards in individual and team academic team competition, including Top 5 district and regional individual rankings in Mathematics, Language Arts, Science, and Arts in Humanities; top 10 state individual ranking in the General Knowledge category; top 2 district and regional team rankings in Quick Recall; top 16 state team ranking in Quick Recall; the DOE Regional Science Bowl Champion Team; and the DOE National Science Bowl Participating Team.
She is a four-year member of the PTHS Concert Band and has performed as principal clarinetist. She has chaired in KMEA’s All-District Concert and Symphonic Bands, Murray State University’s Quad-State Honor Band, and the Western Kentucky University Honor Band. Kight is also a four-year member of the Speech Team and was named a state quarterfinalist in Radio Broadcasting, state qualifier in Prose, invitational finalist in Prose and Radio Broadcasting, and is currently the regional champion in Program Oral Interpretation.
Since 2018, Kight has served as a member of the Youth Advisory Board for the Center for Parent and Teen Communication. She is also a member of the National Honor Society, PT Pageturners Club, and Dungeons & Dragons Club and participates in the Paducah Symphony Orchestra Youth Chorus. She serves as a summer camp reading counselor and during the pandemic has sewed and distributed over 400 cloth face masks to schools, ministries, and individuals across the state.
Kight recently committed to attending MIT after graduation, with plans to major in molecular biology and computer science.
All winners of the Merit Scholarship awards are chosen from the finalist group based on their abilities, skills and accomplishments. A variety of information is evaluated, including the finalist’s academic record, information about the school’s curriculum and grading system, Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) Selection Index score, written recommendation, activities and leadership, and the finalist’s own essay. Students enter the National Merit competition as high school juniors by taking the PSAT/NMSQT, which serves as an initial screen of program entrants. Students with the highest PSAT/NMSQT Selection Index qualify for recognition.
Tilghman principal Allison Stieg said of Kight, “Paige’s academic and personal excellence is of the highest degree. Tilghman is very proud of all of her achievements, including this most recent finalist designation, and we’re excited to see her path unfold.”