National Merit Semifinalist Lives in the Moment While Setting Sights on College

Tall and composed with one of the most important academic years of her life upon her, Hoi Ki Leung is far from nervous. A young senior at , Leung will turn seventeen this month, but she has already reached a level of accomplishment that no other current senior in South San Francisco can claim.

In the midst of upcoming college applications and senior activities, Leung has just been named a semifinalist for the National Merit Scholarship, a half-century old scholarship competition that considers about 1.5 million applicants from around the country.

From the huge initial pool of applicants, the young candidates are whittled down to a group of 34,000 commended students and then 16,000 semifinalists, with representation divided among all 50 states. Semi-finalists like Leung have earned their positions with high rankings in the PSAT and National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

Leung is the only representative in the competition from South San Francisco this year, and the news that she was a semifinalist came as a surprise even to her.

“I was surprised because I didn’t think the school was selected to be a semifinalist,” said a modest Leung, whose first notice of her new standing was at the time of her interview. Happy to hear the news, she maintains a calm mindset about the process of qualifying for the finals, saying that much will depend on the result of her work in the next few months.

For Leung, the possibility of qualifying for the nationally recognized scholarship holds extra importance because of the sacrifices that her family has made to afford her such opportunities. Her parents left Hong Kong when she was just six years old, bringing her to America so that she could have a better chance at a higher education.

“My parents sacrificed a lot for me to be here,” she said, explaining how her mother left a good job in Hong Kong so that Leung and her younger sister, a sophomore at South San Francisco High School, could attend good schools in America. “Hong Kong schools are very competitive; if you don’t get into a nice elementary school, you won’t go to a good college.”

While a large reason that Leung has worked hard throughout her school career is to honor her parents’ sacrifices, she said that she also realizes the importance of her education to her own success. With college applications due in December, Leung is still unsure of where her future will be, but holds hopes of attending nearby Stanford University so that she can receive a first-rate education while remaining close to her family.

Explaining the importance of family, she recounted her most recent visit to Hong Kong over the summer, where she spoke with her grandfather one last time before he died.

“That was the first time I attended a funeral,” she said, explaining that his death had a major impact on her as he had always been one of the closest relatives to her, despite living in another country.

Making the most of her time with her remaining family members, she said, is now one of her biggest priorities.

“I want to spend more time with both of my grandmothers [in Hong Kong],” she said. “I’m just so far from them.”  

Future travel will have a dual purpose, as she explained that she also hopes to repay her parents for all the travel opportunities they gave her growing up.

“When we were little, we went on trips to Korea and places near Hong Kong,” she explained. “Whenever they got a chance to go on trips, they would take us. When I’m older I want to travel with them—then it will be me taking them places.”

Like the other 16,000 semifinalists, Leung will find out whether or not she has been selected as a finalist for the scholarship in February of next year, but for now, she is focusing on each moment, taking in every part of her final year at South San Francisco High.

“I’m kind of sad [about the end of high school],” she said, “but I’m also excited for college. This only happens once in a lifetime. It’s going to be a really memorable year.”