Gavin Carlisle earned National Merit Scholarship recognition in the 2027 National Merit Scholarship Program, and Mia Jaoude was also named in the same class of honors. Carlisle was selected as a National Merit Semifinalist, while Jaoude was recognized as a Commended Student.
The distinction puts the two Cape Henlopen High School seniors into a national group of about 50,000 students recognized from roughly 1.3 million entrants. The program uses Preliminary SAT and National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test performance to sort students into higher and lower recognition levels.
Kristin DeGregory on Gavin Carlisle
Kristin DeGregory said, “Gavin’s National Merit recognition is a tremendous accomplishment, and we are incredibly proud of him.” She also said, “What makes this recognition especially meaningful is seeing Gavin’s academic success alongside his involvement in music, theater and Science Olympiad.”
Carlisle participates in Cape Henlopen High School’s music and theater programs, performs in plays and musicals, and plays in the jazz band. He is also a member of Science Olympiad and was a first chair all-state trumpet player for both band and orchestra last year.
Mia Jaoude at Cape High
Jaoude’s recognition comes alongside a record of work outside the classroom. She is an active member of the Cape High swim team, earned the first girls' individual swim title in the 50m freestyle during the 2025-26 season, and was a member of two relay teams that broke school records during the state swimming championships last year.
She also participates in the school’s Animal Science Pathway. After high school, Jaoude hopes to continue swimming in college, plans to pursue a degree in biochemistry, and has a goal to become a veterinary surgeon.
National Merit at Cape Henlopen High School
The program split the 2027 recognition pool into more than 16,000 Semifinalists and approximately 34,000 Commended Students. That means Carlisle received the higher distinction while Jaoude was recognized at the Commended Student level, even though both are among the same year’s honored students from Cape Henlopen High School.
The honors do not say here whether either student moves on to later scholarship stages. What the recognition does show is that Cape Henlopen High School sent two seniors into a national competition where performance on the Preliminary SAT and National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test determines who is placed among the Semifinalists and who is listed among the Commended Students.
