Commended students are recognized for the exceptional academic promise demonstrated by their outstanding performance on the qualifying test. More than 1.5 million students took the 2018 preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Of those students, 34,000 high performers are named Commended Students.
Beard is the daughter of Jon and Toni Beard. She hopes to attend MIT next year to study biomedical engineering.
Beard has been taking dual enrollment classes at Grand Rapids Community College since the summer of her sophomore year in high school and expects to have eight completed college courses before entering college full time. Beard said she’s honored with this academic recognition.
In addition to her academics, Beard has been a member of the TKHS marching band and involved in the Barry County 4-H program. She is also an avid sport shooter and competed in the 2019 National Junior Olympic Shooting Championship.