AREA — The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) on April 24 released the names of the first group of winners in the 69th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Approximately 770 distinguished high-school seniors have won corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarship awards financed by about 94 corporations, company foundations and other business organizations. Two local residents are among the honorees.
Sripriya Challa of Scotch Plains, a student at the Academy for Information Technology in Scotch Plains, whose probable career field is computer science, was awarded a National Merit Bristol Myers Squibb Scholarship.
Jeffery X. Liu of Westfield, a student at Union County Magnet High School in Scotch Plains, whose probable career field is aerospace engineering, was awarded a National Merit Pfizer Inc. Scholarship.
Most of these awards are renewable for up to four years of college undergraduate study and provide stipends that range from $1,000 to $10,000 per year. Some provide a single payment of between $2,500 and $5,000. Recipients can use their awards at any regionally-accredited U.S. college or university of their choice.
Scholars were selected from students who advanced to the Finalist level in the National Merit Scholarship competition and met criteria of their scholarship sponsors. Corporate sponsors provide National Merit Scholarships for Finalists who are children of their employees, who are residents of communities the company serves, or who plan to pursue college majors or careers the sponsor wishes to encourage.
By the conclusion of the 2024 competition, more than 6,870 Finalists will have been selected to receive National Merit Scholarships totaling nearly $26 million. Winners are the Finalist candidates judged to have the strongest combination of academic skills and achievements, extracurricular accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies.
NMSC, a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance, was established in 1955 to conduct the National Merit Scholarship Program. The majority of National Merit Scholarships offered each year are underwritten by some 320 independent corporate and college sponsors that support NMSC’s efforts to honor the nation’s scholastically- talented youth and encourage academic excellence at all levels of education. For full information, visit nationalmerit.org.
