By Nicole Thomas
SHS senior Tanzim Hassan has earned recognition as a National Merit Semifinalist for his score on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
As a Semifinalist, Tanzim is ranked among the highest scoring students in Mississippi, and he is one of 16,000 academically talented students selected nationwide for the honor, which represents less than one percent of high school seniors in the country.
Tanzim scored a 2390 out of 2400 on the SAT, including perfect marks in math and reading.
Tanzim, who has taken full advantage of the wide range of Advanced Placement course offerings at SHS, says his AP Stats knowledge really came in handy during the exam.
“It definitely saved me some time,” said Tanzim. “I was able to apply my conceptual knowledge without having to work out the problem by hand.”
Tanzim credits former SHS math teacher Wade Williams, who is now an assistant principal at Armstrong Middle School, with helping him earn a perfect score on the exam in math.
“Mr. Williams is an engaging teacher who effectively demonstrated probability by allowing us to eat M&M’s under the guise of a statistical lab,” said Tanzim. “He involved us in the learning process.”
Williams says he was always impressed with Tanzim’s work ethic as an independent learner.
“Tanzim is definitely a unique student in that he has so much natural ability combined with such a thirst for knowledge,” said Williams. “That has really led Tanzim to do a lot of work and studying on his own, and I’m glad to see that that’s really paying off for him.”
As he prepares to graduate from SHS with highest honors, Tanzim is balancing his senior coursework and involvement with the Mu Alpha Theta and the Key Club at SHS with a research opportunity at Mississippi State University in the area of high performance computing alongside Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Engineering Andy Perkins.
“Tanzim only started working with me this semester, but it is clear that he is an exceptionally bright and motivated student that is deserving of this honor,” said Perkins. “The research experience that Tanzim is gaining at Mississippi State will ensure that he is well-positioned to apply to top universities.”