Westwood Regional Senior Named National Hispanic Scholar

TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON, N.J. -- Alex Pirola, a senior at Westwood Regional Jr./Sr. High School, has been selected as a National Hispanic Scholar.

Alex Pirola with Jennifer Gadaleta, his guidance counselor
Photo Credit: *courtesy of Westwood Regional School District*

Rachel Martin

09/26/2016 4:00 a.m.

The National Hispanic Recognition Program identifies academically outstanding Hispanic or Latino high school students. It honors about 5,000 of the highest-scoring students from more than 250,000 Hispanic and Latino juniors who take the PSAT.

Based on scores on his PSAT, which Pirola took last year, he ranked in the top 2.5 percent among the Hispanic and Latino PSAT test-takers in the region.

To be eligible, students also must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 by the middle of their junior year.

The designation is "an academic honor that can be included on college applications," according to the College Board. "It's not a scholarship, but colleges do use this program to identify academically exceptional Hispanic/Latino students."

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