Pictured is Hannah G. Finson of Lakewood playing her harp. Finson, a senior at Southwestern Central School, has received a National Merit Scholarship to attend Liberty University in the fall. Submitted photo

Hannah Finson, the top-ranked senior at Southwestern High School, has advanced to finalist standing in the very competitive National Merit Scholarship Program. She is one of only 15,000 finalists nationwide vying for 7,500 scholarships worth more than $32 million. About half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.

An extremely active member of the Southwestern community, Finson is a gifted musician and leader. She is in choir, choraliers, and is first chair trumpet in band. She is senior class president as well as president of the band, Key Club and National Honor Society. She performs in the New York State School Music Association band (All County & Area All-State selection), vocal competitions and has acted in several school musicals since 2014, with a featured role in “Back to the 80s” in March.

In November 2017, she was named the Chautauqua Area Scholarship Program winner, an honor accompanied by a $4,000 grand prize. In December 2017, she played her 107-year-old harp – an instrument she has studied since age 8 – in front of a “sold-out” audience at the Marilyn Horne Museum and Exhibit Center in Pennsylvania.

Finson is ranked No. 1 in a competitive class of 110 at Southwestern. She has been the editor of the student newspaper and is presently taking four Advanced Placement classes plus one course through Jamestown Community College during her senior year. She is a recipient of the Darwin-Perkins Math Award, obtained mastery on all three New York State math Regents exams, is a recipient of the Bausch & Lomb Honorary Science Award from the University of Rochester in addition to being a Rensselaer Polytechnic Science and Math Medalist.

The National Merit Scholarship Program will roll out announcements informing winners through July. Winners are “candidates judged to have the strongest combination of academic and extracurricular attainments and the greatest potential for success in rigorous college studies.” Each finalist’s academic record, essays and recommendations of school officials play a big role in the judging process.

With her sights set on a medical career, Finson dreams of one day becoming an eye surgeon. She intends to major in biochemistry and molecular biology on a premed track at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va.

Finson is the youngest daughter of Lakewood residents John and Karen Finson. Her older sisters, Laurel Finson, Kristy Woodfield and Molly Woodfield, are also Southwestern grads.