Pinole Valley High Senior Is A National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist

Leonard Eisen is a poet. He's a trumpeter. He's a debater.

He's also a National Merit Scholarship semifinalist.

The non-profit education foundation announced its list of semifinal contenders for its prestigious scholarships this week.

On the roster was the Pinole Valley High School senior.

Eisen is the only student in the West Contra Costa Unified School District to make it this far in the competition.

The youngster said he believes the high PSAT score he received early in his junior year is the main reason he was selected as a semifinalist.

Eisen also recorded a lofty 2150 on his SAT test. However, the teen wants to take the exam again because he's not quite satisfied with that score.

Eisen isn't quite sure where he'll attend college next fall. At the moment, he is learning toward Harvard or Penn.

He's not sure either what he'll study. He has an interest in writing and international relations. But he also might want to study political science or get into pre-law.

"There are a lot of things that interest me," he said.

Eisen has grown up in West Contra Costa. He attended Madera Elementary in El Cerrito for grades kindergarten through fifth. In sixth grade, he went to Ellerhorst Elementary before attending Pinole Middle School and then Pinole Valley High.

Eisen is involved in a number of extra-curricular activities.

He plays trumpet in the school marching band and is a member of its slam poetry club.

Eisen is also on the debate team. He is currently ranked third among California high school students in Lincoln Douglas style debate and in the top 16 in Impromptu Speech.

When he heads off to college, Eisen will be following in some accomplished footsteps. His older sister just graduated from U.C. Berkeley with a degree in psychology.