Belton ISD Seniors Achieve National Academic Honors
Belton ISD has four seniors recognized this year through the National Merit Program for top performances on the Preliminary SAT (PSAT) during their junior year.
“The dedication these students have put into their studies to earn this designation is tremendous” said Superintendent Matt Smith. “I am proud of their hard work and proud that they are being recognized for their efforts.”
Belton High School seniors Mitchell Bonner, Benjamin Broom and Zane Williams were named semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program. To qualify as a National Merit semifinalist, the students’ high scores on the PSAT placed them in the top 1 percent of more than 1.5 million students who took the test last fall. As the next step in the scholarship competition, Mitchell, Broom and Williams will submit essays, recommendations and additional test scores to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.
Mitchell Bonner is the son of Drs. David and Nancy Bonner. Mitchell is an Eagle Scout, a member of the varsity tennis team and vice president of the National Honor Society. He serves on the youth council at Foundation United Methodist Church, where he hosted a church web show during the pandemic. After graduating, Mitchell plans to attend either Texas A&M University or the University of Texas to major in mechanical engineering.
Benjamin Broom is the son of Gerald and Tanja Broom. He is a Superintendent’s Scholar and member of the National Honor Society as well as a four-year member of the golf team. Benjamin has participated in the Texas Bioscience Institute’s Middle College program through Temple College and served as a college math tutor through the program’s Summer Math Institute. After graduating, he hopes to attend either Rice University or the University of Texas and major in neuroscience.
Zane Williams is the son of Paul and Joanna Williams. Zane is a member of the National Honor Society and has participated in the Marching 100 all four years of high school. He also competed in UIL Academics. Zane plans to attend either the University of Texas or Rice University and double major in physics and computer science.
Belton High School senior Gautam Ghamande was named a National Merit Commended Scholar for 2020. Ranked in the top 5 percent in the nation for scores on the PSAT, Ghamande is among about 34,000 selected as commended students out of 1.5 million who took the test last fall.
Gautam Ghamande is the son of Neelam Konnur and Shekhar Ghamande. He serves as president of Student 2 Student, treasurer for the Key Club and was junior class secretary. Gautam also participates in the National Honor Society, Youth Advisory Commision, Prom Committee, varsity soccer and UIL Academics. Guatam plans to attend the University of Texas as a biology major with the intention of pursuing medical school.