Marco Island Academy Student a National Merit Scholar

Marco’s Kathryn Barry was surprised when she recently learned she is a National Merit Scholar for 2023. 

"I was very, very surprised and happy about it,” said Kathryn Barry, a senior at Marco Island Academy. She was also surprised when she read the list of Collier County Public School semi-finalists.

“There were 12 semi-finalists in Collier County,” Barry said. "I was the only girl."

Only students who score in the top 1% on the PSAT, a practice version of the SAT, become National Merit Scholarship semi-finalists. Over 16,000 students become semi-finalists. Only 7,500 students become National Merit Scholars in the United States annually.

Kathryn’s father, Travis Barry, a local pharmacist who is also the head coach of MIA’s basketball team, says the scholarship is far more valuable than its monetary value of $2,500.

“It’s not a huge scholarship,” said Travis Barry, “but it has power. All the schools want national merit scholars.”

MIA principal Melissa Scott is proud of her student.

“Kathryn is a phenom,” Melissa Scott said. “She is as kind as she is intelligent and always pushes herself past her own expectations. As the school has grown, she has supported it, and it is students like her that will leave a legacy behind. We are proud of her every single day."

Kathryn Barry is number one in her class at MIA. She is also the star of MIA’s girls’ basketball team. She is known for hitting three-point shots. She likes the prospects of this year’s team.

"I’m super-excited,” she said. "We have a lot of new freshmen who are really good. We have people coming back, like Peyton Rice and the Reisinger sisters."

While Travis Barry spends a lot of time helping Kathryn hone her jump shot, he and his pharmacist wife Kim also participate in their daughter’s academic pursuits.

“Kathryn was trying to get a perfect score on the SAT,” Travis Barry said. "We kept focusing on that. Because that seems like what all the schools are looking at. What we didn’t know is that it really helped with the PSAT." 

Kathryn Barry is not sure where she will continue her studies. “I’m keeping my options open,” she said with a smile.