33 Montgomery County seniors have earned National Merit Scholarships in the second round of awards from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC).
Awardees were selected from more than 16,000 students nationwide and were among 52 awardees chosen in Maryland. The awards provide recipients with a one-time award of $2,500 for college tuition.
This group of awardees were selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors, who appraised information submitted by both the students and their high schools, including the academic record, scores from the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), contributions and leadership in school and community activities, an essay written by the student, and a recommendation written by a high school official.
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) was established in 1955 to honor scholastically talented youth and encourage academic excellence at all levels of education. The scholarships are privately funded by NMSC and are underwritten by more than 400 corporate and college sponsors. Recipients are judged to have the strongest record of accomplishments and the greatest potential for success in college.
The winners of the scholarships, with their intended career fields, are:
Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School
- Grace Cavanagh Wilkins, economics
- Joey G. Giordano, materials engineering
Montgomery Blair High School
- Natanel W. Ha, environmental science
- Jihwan Kim, academia
- Hawon Lee, engineering
- Jeffrey W. Tong, computer programming
James Hubert Blake High School
- Graham M. Ferguson, genetics
Winston Churchill High School
- William Zhu, computer science
Clarksburg High School
- Sarah R. Thomas, academia
Gaithersburg High School
- Ishaan S. Antani, medicine
Richard Montgomery High School
- Victoria C. Koretsky, chemical engineering
- Jonathan M. Nalikka, computer science
- Hana R. O’Looney-Goto, politics
- Visesh Srinivas Uppoor, aerospace engineering
Northwest High School
- Flora Ye, psychiatry
Poolesville High School
- Kaviya Kandaswamy, undecided
- Christine M. Kim, law
- Benjamin E. Nachod, biomedical engineering
Sherwood High School
- Emma C. Bair, mechanical engineering (robotics)
Wheaton High School
- Lily Ciel L. Behnam, veterinary medicine
Walt Whitman High School
- Joseph A. Aron, surgical medicine
- Iman Ilias, diplomatic service
- Felix J. Leonhardt, international relations
Walter Johnson High School
- Sophia E. Meytin, science/research
- Andrew P. Berube, business
Thomas S. Wootton High School
- Jasmine X. Gong, psychology
Holton-Arms School
- Ester Schneiderova, materials engineering
- Isabella M. Terhune, environmental engineering
National Cathedral School (Washington, DC)
- Arya A. Balian, activism
Our Lady of Good Counsel
- Rebekah Enci Sun, business
Phillips Academy (Andover, Mass.)
- Emma N. Jing, politics
St John’s College HS (Washington, D.C.)
- James M. Morrison, law
Sidwell Friends School (Washington, D.C.)
- Layla Dawit, medicine
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20 Montgomery County Students Earn National Merit Scholarships
