Luke Foley becomes National Merit Scholar finalist

Portledge senior and Locust Valley resident Luke Foley is one of only 15,000 students across the United States to have become a finalist for the National Merit Scholarship. Through his hard work and determination, he has become Portledge’s first finalists in over a decade.

According to the Scholarship website, roughly 1.6 million students across the country apply for National Merit Scholarships each year since the academic competition was founded in 1955. Following the submission of Foley’s Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test in his junior year, he and several other students who scored above a certain marker were encouraged by Portledge to apply for the scholarship.

According to Ryann Supple, Portledge’s communications director, the school had several students make it to the semifinalist round, but only Foley managed to continue to the finalist round following the submission of his SAT’s as well as a description of his academic career and a self-descriptive essay. Supple added that the administration was looking forward to seeing where Foley’s future will take him.

“This is a really amazing academic achievement,” Supple said. “Everyone at the school is just so proud of him.”

For his essay, Foley said he chose to write about his love of collecting vinyl records. The self-descriptive essay is meant to offer the judges for the scholarship a window into the mind and heart of the applicants, and Foley felt that discussing his appreciation for vinyls was a great way to do so.

“I think it’s a way to engage more meaningfully with music and I kind of feel like in our streaming age music has become devalued,” Foley said. “So, in the essay I discussed that vinyls are a good way to put more attention and care back into art and music.”

By qualifying as a National Merit Scholar, Foley has earned a $2,500 scholarship to his future college the University of Notre Dame. Foley said he was very excited when he had received the news that he made it as a finalist and was especially proud to have been able to represent Portledge on the national stage.

Foley wasn’t the only one who was proud of him. Portledge’s Head of School Simon Owen-Williams expressed his support and encouragement for Foley in a written statement where he lionized the senior for his grit and intelligence.

“Luke’s multiple academic achievements exemplify his diligence, sustained effort and natural scholarly acumen. Portledge is proud to have shared in his prolific accomplishments and join with those who laud his many successes,” Owen-Williams wrote. “It has been an honor to teach and participate in his exceptional educational journey.”

Foley described himself as fan of the humanities, and particularly lauded Portledge’s English department for challenging and stimulating him intellectually during his time at the school. He said he has especially enjoyed the reading list, as he was “interested in beyond like just having to read them for homework assignments.” Although he says he plans to major in strategic management at Notre Dame, thanks to Portledge’s academic influence he says he is also hoping to dual major in one of the humanities programs such as philosophy or theology.

Foley’s achievements at Portledge extend beyond the classroom walls however. He is also an athlete on the varsity squash team, and he plays the alto saxophone as a member of the school’s jazz band.

Foley is also currently starring in the school play, “Urinetown: The Musical,” as the rapacious villain Caldwell B. Cadwell. “Urinetown” is a satirical piece set in a dystopian future where there are no private bathrooms and all public bathrooms are owned by a megacorporation.

While the physical scholarship has not yet been delivered to Foley, he said he is most excited about how his success reflects on his alma mater. He also attributed his academic achievement to his family, who he added have supported and helped him through the entire process.