Deering High School senior Alma Wallace has won a $2,500 National Merit Scholarship, making her a Merit Scholar. She is one of just eight Maine seniors to be awarded that scholarship and among 2,500 Merit Scholars chosen from a nationwide talent pool of more than 15,000 outstanding Finalists in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program.

National Merit $2,500 Scholarship winners are the Finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies. The number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the nation’s graduating high school seniors.

These Scholars were selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors, who appraised a substantial amount of information submitted by both the Finalists and their high schools: their academic records, including difficulty level of subjects studied and grades earned; their scores from the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test; contributions and leadership in school and community activities; an essay written by the Finalist; and a recommendation written by a high school official.

Deering High School shared the following summary of Wallace’s achievements:

“What makes Alma Wallace truly stand out as a cornerstone of the Deering High School community is her rare balance of advanced intellectual achievement and vibrant, multi-disciplinary engagement. Her journey over the last four years is a masterclass in consistency and versatile curiosity. Alma has maintained a stellar academic record since her freshman year. Yet, her footprint on our campus extends far beyond test scores and classrooms; she has spent four years actively shaping the academic, civic, and creative life of our community.

Alma has a remarkable ability to channel her intellect into diverse competitive and collaborative arenas. In the realm of scientific achievement, she was a crucial contributor to the Deering Science Olympiad Team, earning multiple silver medals in specialized events ranging from Dynamic Planet and Electric Vehicle to Experimental Design, ultimately helping the team bring home the first-place state championship trophy this spring. Her analytical drive is equally visible on the Deering Math Team, where she has consistently put up strong competitive scores in the Pi-Cone South Math League meets.

Simultaneously, Alma is a powerful voice in civic engagement and the arts. As a standout participant in Youth & Government, she has debated student-drafted bills on the floor of the State House in Augusta, and she secured a first-place victory in the varsity public forum debate at the Nutcracker Holiday Tournament. Beyond science and politics, she is a talented writer and performer who has earned recognition for her poetry and short stories through the Breccia Club, while remaining an active, energetic presence with the Deering Players theater group. Inducted into the National Honor Society in 2025, Alma represents the very best of Deering—a student who never restricted her talents to a single track, but instead deeply embedded herself in the daily life of our school to elevate every space she enters.”

The National Merit Scholarship Program honors individual students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in a rigorous college environment. This year’s National Merit Scholarship Program began in October 2024 when high school juniors took the PSAT/NMSQT, which served as an initial screen of program entrants. In September 2025, the highest-scoring participants in each state, representing less than one percent of the nation’s high school seniors, were named Semifinalists on a state-representational basis in the 2026 contest.

Three PPS students were among just 58 Maine seniors that the program named as Semifinalists. In addition to Wallace, the PPS Semifinalists were Deering High School seniors Ellis Retzer and Ellis Wood. They and all the other academically talented 16,000 Semifinalists nationwide had the opportunity to compete for 6,930 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $26 million offered in the 71st annual National Merit Scholarship Program. The National Merit Scholarship winners are being announced in four nationwide news releases that began in April and end in July.  By the end of this year’s program, about 6,700 students nationwide will have earned the “Merit Scholar” title and received a college scholarship.