Four Future Golden Panthers Win Scholarships

Four Montgomery County eighth graders will attend Pope John Paul II High School next year as Neumann Scholars, a highly prestigious scholarship awarded by the Connelly Foundation. 

According to Pope John Paul II High School's Facebook page, there were five scholarships awarded to Montgomery County Catholic school students this year out of 35 total scholarships. 

Three of the students, Ben Ferris, Matt Homiak and Mark DeHarde, come from St. Aloysius School in Pottstown. The fourth, James Murphy, is an eighth grader at Corpus Christi School in Lansdale. 

The Neumann Scholars program is a competitive scholarship program that awards full four-year tuition to the Catholic high school of the student's choice. 

Requirements to maintain the scholarship are strict. Students must maintain a average of 92 or higher and stay ranked within the top 10 percent of the class. They are also required to finish with a conduct average of 85 and minimal absences or tardiness. 

An average of 900 eligible students compete for the scholarship each year, from 112 parochial schools in the five-county area, according to the Connelly Foundation website. 161 Neumann Scholars currently attend high schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. 

The Connelly Foundation's website lists accomplishments by Neumann Scholars since the program's inception in 1995:

• 100% college acceptance and attendance
• $108.88 Million offered in college scholarships
• 83 National Merit Finalists
• 2 National Merit Semi-Finalists
• 158 National Merit Commended Students
• 5 National Merit Achievement Students
• Average SAT score of 1356 and a high score of 1600 (combined math and critical reading)