Andrew Orders ’23 of Charleston, West Virginia, has been named a Commended Student in the 2023 National Merit Scholarship Program. 

Approximately 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Commended Students placed among the top 50,000 of the 1.5 million students who entered the 2023 competition by taking the 2021 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).

“We are very proud of Andrew’s academic performance, his dedication to learning, and his growth as a student and young man at Blue Ridge School,” commented Dean of Faculty Amber Wilkins. “We have seen tremendous growth in him and are excited to see what his future holds.”

Melissa Orders, Andrew’s mother, says her son has thrived at Blue Ridge School. “We chose Blue Ridge because of the excellent academic support for students and the individual attention that we knew Andrew would get there. Working with Dr. Keevil in the Fishburne Learning Center has made Andrew a more confident and prepared student. He’s more organized and more responsible for his work than before.”

Andrew is interested in studying civil engineering with the goal of becoming the fifth generation of his family’s bridge construction business.