Cole Johnson is a student-athlete at Campbell County High School that excels on and off the basketball court.
He was recently named a finalist for the National Merit scholarship.
“I was so excited [finding out Cole was a finalist], because he is not your traditional National Merit finalist,” CCHS Principal Holly Phelps said. “He is involved in so much. I have seen him in his engineering classes, giving presentations and on the basketball court. So when I received that letter, the first thing I did was call him out of class, because we find out before they do.”
The National Merit scholarship is a $2,500 college scholarship. To receive this scholarship, the high school student must take the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT). Based on the score, the National Merit Program decides on about 16,000 semifinalists of about 50,000 test-takers. Of the 16,000 semifinalists, there are about 15,000 finalists. The finalists are considered for the scholarship after they submit forms confirming test scores, prove their academic record and are recommended by a high school officer.
The semifinalists also complete and submit an application that shows high school grades, a list of extracurricular and volunteer activities, and an essay describing themselves and what they do outside of academics. Of these 15,000 finalists across the Selection Index, which includes the United States (US), District of Columbia (DC), US Territories and Commonwealths and students enrolled in schools outside the US, only about half of the finalists receive the award. In March, the finalists will know if they were given the scholarship.
“To be honest, the finalists was not the surprising part. There was the semifinalist [part] that really kind of surprised me and then it is a lot easier to become a finalist once you have become a semifinalist,” Johnson said. “So I was almost kind of expecting it, but just hearing the confirmation was pretty fulfilling.”
Johnson has a weighted grade point average (GPA) of 6.27 and an unweighted GPA of 4.0. Outside of academics, Johnson likes to play guitar for fun and during the summer, he runs his own “small business sort of thing” that includes pressure washing pavements and siding. He’s also a big part of the 21-6 Camels basketball team, averaging seven points and 2.2 rebounds per game.
“Cole off the court is just about as personable a kid as you will ever meet,” Camels head coach Brent Sowder said. “He is always ready with a smile and a hello. You always know you are going to have a great, uplifting, and positive conversation when you are talking to Cole. He is just a very smart player on the court. He knows the ins and outs of the game and he is super athletic too. He is our best dunker. He hasn’t had one in a game yet, but he can throw it down.”
Initially, Johnson didn’t really like basketball, but after watching the NBA he caught on and wanted to start playing in elementary school and has played ever since.
“Basketball is always great. I have great friends on the team. I don’t know what I would do if I did not play basketball. I would have a lot of free time, I suppose,” Johnson said. “Playing basketball fulfills so much more than a couple of hours of free time that I would get to do homework and then do other things that I want to do. Just playing basketball is so much better than not playing basketball, even though it is kind of hard on a workload.”
Being a student-athlete can be challenging, but Johnson is able to practice time management throughout his time in high school. Sowder has seen this in Johnson first hand, as a student and a player. Sowder teaches at the high school and had Johnson in his Advanced Placement United States History class.
“That first day he came in the classroom, I just was like ‘this kid is on it.’ Just knowing him, it was not a surprise, because he just picks up on things quickly. He is so intelligent, quick witted, and all of those things,” Sowder said. “The school, the basketball team, and all of his coaches are just super proud of him, because we know the work he puts into to put himself in that situation to be a National Merit Finalist.”
After high school, Johnson plans on attending Purdue University to pursue a mechanical engineering degree. As for basketball, he just wants to play for fun in a recreational league at the university.
“Cole is just a great kid to talk to,” Sowder said. “We are blessed and lucky to have him in our program for sure.”