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Four local students named National Merit finalists

Feb. 22—Four area students have been named finalists in the National Merit Scholarship program, meaning they scored in the top 1% nationwide on the PSAT exam. They will find out in March if they win National Merit Scholarships. The students are Dash Dixon, a senior at Austin High School; David Hudry, a senior at Decatur Heritage Christian Academy; Samantha Setzer, a homeschooled senior; and Micah Williams, a 2024 graduate of Decatur High School. Fifteen thousand students nationwide are chosen as finalists and of those, 7,000 will become National Merit scholars. To qualify for the scholarship, the applicants had to take the PSAT exam in October of their junior year. National Merit gives out $2,500 one-time scholarships to about 2,500 National Merit scholars and then colleges, universities and businesses give out scholarships that can vary in amount. They will find out in March whether they are chosen as scholarship recipients. When he was a little boy, Dash Dixon wanted to be an astronaut when he grew up. Today, at 17, his dreams haven't gotten too far afield. He wants to attend either the University of Alabama or the University of Chicago in the fall and study aerospace chemistry. The salutatorian of his graduating class, Dixon is the son of John and Colleen Dixon of Decatur and the brother of Kate Dixon, a 10th grader. He found out he was a finalist via email a day or two before a letter arrived. "I was excited — I had been waiting for months since the semifinals in October or November of last year," he said. His parents were excited, too. He has big dreams. "I want to be a chemical engineer because I fell in love with chemistry and I want to apply it to aerospace," he said. Some of his career goals include making rocket fuel or the coating on spaceships and working for United Launch Alliance, Blue Origin or NASA, he said. — David Hudry David Hudry, 18, a senior at Decatur Heritage Christian Academy and celebrated Eagle Scout, wants to study aerospace and attend one of the military academies. The son of Wayne and Twila Hudry of Decatur, David is the brother of Juliana Hudry, a senior at United States Military Academy West Point in New York. He has been offered positions at three military academies — Army (West Point), U.S. Air Force Academy and U.S. Naval Academy. He is leaning toward the Naval Academy and he has a need for speed. As a child he wanted to be either an astronaut or a fighter pilot and today he is still interested in three possible career outcomes — spacecraft, planes or Formula One cars, he said. He said God has shown him the way through life by opening and closing various doors. He is leaning toward the Navy because his grandfather served in the Navy. Manning a submarine, flying a plane off a carrier or being a top gun "all sound pretty cool to me," he said. He thanked his parents and sister for their support and guidance through the scholarship process. — Samantha Setzer Samantha Setzer, 17, of Trinity, a homeschooled senior, says she plans to attend the University of Alabama in Huntsville and study business analysis and political science. She thanked her mother for teaching her. "I would not have been able to get the test scores without her," she said, adding she is "really excited" to go to college in the fall. — or 256-340-2361