Scecina senior Bradley Hilbers recognized as National Merit Commended Student

Scecina Memorial High School senior Bradley Hilbers was recently named a Commended Student in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program.

About 34,000 Commended Students across the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. These students place among the top 50,000 nationwide who entered the 2026 competition by taking the 2024 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).

Bradley said he is honored to represent Scecina with this distinction.

“I was able to achieve this thanks to the academic foundation laid by my teachers at St. Michaels and built upon by teachers here at Scecina,” he said. “This motivates me to continue pushing myself academically to achieve future goals.”

Bradley is captain of the cross country team, runs track, and is a member of the National Honor Society. Beyond school, he participates in Boy Scouts and 4-H and volunteers weekly at a local food pantry.

He is most passionate about math and business, interests that grew through his Scecina coursework. He plans to study actuarial science in college.

“I enjoy math and business for similar reasons, such as their practical applications throughout life and their use of numbers and logic to understand aspects of the world,” he said.

Bradley encourages classmates to stay consistent in their studies.

“The most important thing to challenging yourself is to maintain discipline and get things done in a timely manner,” he said. “You have to be willing to put the work in continuously, or you will not see much growth over time.”

When he is not studying or competing, Bradley enjoys running and spending time with his pets.