Boothbay Region High School senior Lilley Harris has progressed in the National Merit Scholarship as a finalist. The Southport resident was among 15,000 students across the nation chosen as finalists.

The program is based on junior year PSAT scores. Harris was notified in September she was among 16,000 semi-finalists.

In October, Harris, daughter of Medea and Bruce Harris, went through a long application process which would put her in the running as a finalist.

“It's basically a mini college application. You give them your college application essay ... five activities you've done .:. your grades, letters of recommendation, and your guidance counselor has a ton to do on her end,” said Harris.

In January, when those cut are notified, came and went with no word, Harris began entertaining the possibility she was a finalist. However, February came and the week Harris was supposed to find out, Principal Dan Welch was gone.

“I got all stressed out about it. Mr. Welch wasn't at school. Finally, the day Mr. Welch got back … I booked it down there and said 'Mr. Welch, do you have a letter for me?'”

“Your mom was actually just in here crying,” Welch said.

“Oh, great. She was crying. That means I didn't get it,” Harris said. “But it was happy crying. I became a finalist.”

The honor of finalist goes to less than one percent of high school students. Harris said she will get a $5,000 scholarship on top of all other scholarships she receives to her top choice university, Northeastern University.

“It was the one thing I wanted coming in to high school, since seventh grade.”