Kingfisher High School honor student, Student Council president, athlete and FFA standout Harrison Themer is one step closer to joining an elite group that also includes Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and M. Night Shyamalan.

Themer was notified this month that he is included among the 2020 National Merit Scholarship finalists, a group comprising less than 1 percent of the nation’s top graduating seniors.

KHS Principal Todd Overstreet said he was not surprised when he received the notification.

“Harrison is not only an outstanding student, he is also a true leader in our school,” Overstreet said, noting Harrison’s broad range of activities and interests.

“Harrison has made a positive impact on everything he is involved in.”

Themer was selected from among an original pool of 1.6 million students who took the Pre-SAT/National Merit Scholar Qualifying Test as sophomores.

The test measures critical reading, mathematics problem-solving and writing abilities and only those scoring in the top 1% nationwide are chosen as National Merit semifinalists.

As a semifinalist, Themer was required to complete an application, including a personal essay, endorsement from a school official, grades and college test scores consistent with his performance on the preliminary test and a record of his leadership, extracurricular and community service activities.

With a near-perfect ACT score of 35, a weighted high school GPA of 4.26, Themer had no problem confirming his preliminary test score was no fluke.

Themer, the son of Dennis and Tammy Themer, has also maintained a 4.0 GPA in 12 hours of college classes he’s taken as a concurrent student. (He’s working on completing three more hours this semester.)

He has been named student of the month three times and received recognition for top grades in a number of classes.

Active in FFA, where he serves as chapter reporter, Harrison also is a nationally accredited parliamentarian, earning a perfect score on the National FFA Parliamentary Procedure exam.

Themer has collected a number of other state and national FFA honors.

He holds two national championships, as a member of the conduct of chapter meetings team and in agriscience, two semifinalist awards as a member of the parliamentary procedure and marketing teams, and was a national talent qualifier.

Themer holds six FFA state championships, on the junior and senior parliamentary procedure, marketing plan, quiz bowl and ag issues forum teams and as an individual award in agriscience.

He’s also won a number of area and regional FFA awards.

Themer serves as chapter vice president of National Honor Society and is a member of Oklahoma Honor Society. He was selected as the KHS delegate to the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Conference.

He also is an integral player for the Jacket basketball team, former state champions and current contenders, and the state-qualifying cross country team.

Despite all these achievements, Themer is humble about his most recent recognition.

“I’m extremely thankful to have had great friends, family, teachers and administrators to support and push me throughout my school career,” Harrison said. “I’m also grateful to God.”

If Harrison ever finds time to relax, he spends it making music on his guitar.

He was a national FFA talent qualifier, playing at the national convention.

He’s also performed the National Anthem before state basketball playoff games and is a regular in the worship band at Kingfisher Church of the Nazarene, where he and his family attend church.

Themer also is active in youth group and has led worship bands at Nazarene youth camps in addition to other local community service.

“We are so thankful for Harrison’s faith in God, hard work ethic, his wonderful teachers, church leaders, amazing friends, and his sisters who cheer him on continuously,” his mother said.

“There is a quote by Fred Rogers that sums it up for me ‘Anyone who does anything to help a child in his life is a hero to me.’”

Themer is now eligible for consideration for one of 2,500 National Merit $2,500 scholarships awarded on a state representational basis, one of 1,000 corporate-sponsored scholarships or one of 4,100 college-sponsored awards.

Themer plans to attend Oklahoma State University, where he will major in economics and pre-law.