Morro Bay High senior, Orion Rea, was named a 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program Semifinalist, placing him among the top high school students in the nation for academics.
Folks have always known Morro Bay High School student, Orion Rea was a pretty smart kid, now the whole country knows it.
The 16-year-old senior was recently named a 2024 semifinalist for the National Merit Scholarship Program, as years of hard work in private and public schools has reached rarefied air.
Begun in 1955, the NMS Program “places Orion among an elite group of high-achieving students nationwide,” reads a news release from MBHS Principal Scott Schalde, “reflecting his exceptional academic performance and commitment to leadership.”
Past NMS recipients include Microsoft Founder, Bill Gates, Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, and former FED Chairman Ben Bernanke.
“I feel really excited to have achieved this honor and really grateful for my school community at MBHS,” Rea told Estero Bay News.
Rea lives in Morro Bay with parents — mom Erin Elfant and dad Ben Rea, plus little sisters Eden, who is in eighth grade, and kindergartener, Isla. He was born in San Francisco, he said, and the family moved to Morro Bay when he was 3-years old.
He says the Merit Scholarship Program involves taking the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test or PSAT, normally taken junior year and testing a student’s skills in reading, writing and math.
PSAT is a precursor to the big SAT test for seniors. SATs are standardized tests used for college admissions.
Rea said he took the PSAT in Fall 2023, when he was a junior and just found out about it when Principal Schalde was notified by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, which owns and runs the privately funded program.
For this the 70th Annual competition, the Corporation named a total of over 16,000 semifinalists, according to a news release from the NMS Corp.
“These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 6,870 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $26 million that will be offered next spring.”
Over 1.3 million students took the same 2023 PSAT that Rea took, representing some 21,000 high schools.
In SLO County, two other students were named to the semifinals list, one of which Rea said he knew in kindergarten.
That student, Spencer Arrivee of Arroyo Grande High School, “was my best friend in pre-school and kindergarten,” Rea recalled. And after that friend moved away, “We stayed in touch.” The other semifinalist goes to Benjamin Jackson of SLO Classical Academy, a private school, and oddly enough, that kid may have once been Rea’s neighbor in Morro Bay.
Rea said his studies started fast.
“I flitted around Montessori School,” he said of his start in formal education. “I’ve been in public school since sixth grade.” He attended Los Osos Middle School and now Morro Bay High, but he’s been ahead of the curve since the start.
“In kindergarten,” he explained, “I had to move forward a grade. So, I did one semester in kindergarten and the second semester in first grade.” He’s been ahead of his classmates in that regard ever since, but, “In high school, I’ve met some really bright kids.”
Rea was founder and is president of MBHS’ Tutoring Club, and captain of the school’s Mock Trial Team.
He credits participation in “Mock Trial” competitions, starting in middle school and continuing at MBHS, where the school’s Mock Trial Team is a 2-time champion, trying to three-peat this year.
Rea said he’s played the part of an attorney in these educational courtroom dramas, “all 6 years. And I was the lead attorney the past 2 years.”
He explained that Mock Trial involves teams from different schools taking either the prosecution or defense side in a fake court case. Team members are either attorneys or witnesses, he said. A real judge presides over the case and the “jury” is made up of three judges or attorneys and decides the winner.
It’s helping him get ready for what he will probably strive to become — a practicing attorney and then judge, or attorney then law school professor. Otherwise, “I don’t know what I want to do yet.” But pursuing the law is definitely in the mix. “The law has always interested me,” Rea said. “More so after the Mock Trials.” If law is the route he takes, Rea said he would “advocate for underserved populations, including in the area of educational reform.”
As for the NMS honors, he seemed somewhat unimpressed, or perhaps he’s more mature than his age implies. “It’s an honor for the school; we don’t often get National Merit Scholars here.”
At this stage though, it’s more of a star on a resume than a boon of riches. “The second stage,” he said, “requires essay and your SAT scores. The next part is the money part.”
Rea is also on the Cross Country Team and ran one of his best ever races at the recent Morro Bay Invitational, held Sept. 14.
He seems pretty set on the college he wants to attend. “I toured a lot of colleges,” he said, “and I thought about Yale. But then I visited Chicago, and I fell in love with it.” He plans to apply to and, if accepted, attend Northwestern University initially studying Philosophy as an undergrad major, before going to law school. “That’s the hope,” he said.
And if Northwestern doesn’t happen, he’ll do what other seniors do — apply to a bunch of schools.
“If I don’t get in,” he said, “I’ll cast a wider net. If I don’t get into Northwestern, I’ll apply to 15 schools, not just one.”
He should hear back on the Merit Scholarships in December, a quick turnaround that is designed to give students time to apply elsewhere.
He’s gotten some local recognition before, last year when a film review of “All Quiet on the Western Front,” a WWI movie about the trench warfare that he submitted to a New York Times contest. He got it published, and EBN wrote it up for the local readers.
He’s applied for local scholarships, like from the Elks Club and some online opportunities. Most of the scholarships want students to write essays, something falls right in his wheelhouse, as writing is one of his favorite things.
“It depends on the style of writing,” he qualified. “I love some aspects of it.”
He’s done a few college courses too, including an online course through Hancock College — “Religions of the Modern World.”
“I’m looking forward to the college courses,” he said. “It’s going to be really fun.”
He’s thankful for all the help he’s gotten from the school and its exceptional teachers. “I want to thank the school,” he said, “Mr. Schalde, my teachers. They’ve given me a good education and I wouldn’t trade it for anything else.”
Principal Schalde was also grateful, for Rea. “Orion’s achievement as a semifinalist,” he said, “reflects not only his academic prowess but also his dedication to service and leadership. His positive influence and lasting impact on the Morro Bay High School campus and community are widely acknowledged and celebrated.”
