Queensbury High School senior Rider Lee has been named a 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program finalist and a 2025 United States Presidential Scholars Program candidate.
The 16-year-old said he was surprised by these recognitions, because he doesn’t pay close attention to his grades. Despite that, he is graduating second in the Class of 2025 as a full International Baccalaureate Diploma Program student.
“I like going to school because I like learning new things and getting engaged in different topics,” Rider said. “I guess that kind of academic thing did come naturally to me. Obviously, I do work hard, but maybe it’s been easier for me because I’ve always been like that.”
Rider is the president of Math Club, co-editor-in-chief of Seeing Blue, the school’s art and literary magazine, and he participates in the Art Club and Robotics Club. He plays flute and piccolo in the QHS Concert Band and Jazz Band, and he will be playing in the orchestra pit during the school musical this weekend. He also performs with the Saratoga Youth Symphony.
The National Merit Scholarship Program is a nationwide academic competition. Rider’s finalist standing places him in a group of more than 15,000 students representing less than 1% of U.S. high school graduating seniors. Only about 6,870 of the finalists will receive a Merit Scholarship award, which could be a $2,500 college scholarship.
The National Merit Scholarship is based upon Rider’s PSAT scores, while the Presidential Scholarship is based on his near-perfect SAT scores.
Of the nearly 3.8 million high school seniors graduating this year, Rider is one of about 6,000 students to receive an invitation to apply to be a Presidential Scholar. Each year, up to 161 students are named as Presidential Scholars, one of the nation's highest honors for high school students. U.S. Presidential Scholars are awarded the Presidential Scholars Medallion.
Rider plans to attend college next year to study math.
“I like all kinds of math, I guess, and then by extension, physics and chemistry I like,” he said. “I do want to go to a college where I can get a whole liberal arts education, because I also like studying music and English.”
He has already been accepted to Case Western Reserve University — which has given him a big scholarship — and he’s still waiting to hear back from several other schools. He is unsure of his future profession, but said he may want to be a math professor.
“That’s one of the things I want to discover in college,” he said, “where I’m going to go.”