Hartselle senior named National Merit Finalist

By By Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
The senior at Hartselle High School with the highest grade point average in her class is also a National Merit Scholarship Finalist.
Alex Paulsen, a third baseman and designated hitter for the Lady Tigers softball team, achieved that honor recently after going through a highly competitive process involving the nation’s brightest and most promising upper class high school students.
To commemorate the honor, she received a Certificate of Achievement from the Hartselle School Board at its most recent meeting. In addition, she is eligible for a wide variety of academic scholarships sponsored by the National Merit Scholarship Foundation.
Academically, Paulsen ranks at the top of her class with a 4.204 grade point average. As a testament to her desire to be challenged by a rigorous curriculum, she has six of the seven periods in her school day filled with AP Honors courses. The seventh is reserved for softball, a sport she has loved and excelled in since she was a young girl.
Home schooled until she reached the ninth grade, Paulsen said she set a goal to become a Merit Scholar Finalist when she was in the fifth grade.
Paulsen said her choice of colleges is between Auburn and Alabama and the scope and depth of the scholarship offers she receives will probably be the deciding factor. She plans to major in chemical engineering and pursue a career in medicine.
Paulsen is a member of the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, Student Council, Ambassadors, Senior Girls and SADD. She also has received top of class recognition in geometry, algebra, chemistry, English and precalculus and was named a Wendy’s Heisman school winner.
She is the daughter of John and Shelley Paulsen of Hartselle and the sister of twins, Rachel and Ben, eighth graders at Hartselle Junior High School.