On April 23, National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) released the names of the first group of winners in the 70th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.
These scholars were selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors, who appraised a substantial amount of information submitted by both the finalists and their high schools: their academic record, including the difficulty of subjects studied and grades earned; 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 finalist; and a recommendation written by a high school official.
Among the winners, chosen from a pool of 15,000 finalists, three were from Hillsborough County. Those three local winners are:
- Siddanth R. Devanathan of Riverview, Strawberry Crest High School student and recipient of the National Merit United Services Automobile Association Scholarship.
- Charlize Riley Mojica of Riverview, homeschool student and recipient of the National Merit Truist Scholarship.
- Alan Xiang of Odessa, Alonso High School student and recipient of the National Merit Pfizer Inc. Scholarship.
“This is an amazing accomplishment for our students, and I want to congratulate them,” said Superintendent Van Ayres. “They represent the very best of Hillsborough County Public Schools, demonstrating academic excellence, leadership, and a deep commitment to their future success.”
Students may use their awards at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university.
“I feel very grateful to both the USAA and the NMSC for selecting me to receive this award, and I plan to use it to fund my higher education at New York University this fall,” said Devanathan. “My goal at the University is to engage in research in economics and mathematics, the subjects I plan to pursue. I also intend to use part of the scholarship to fund real-world projects and study abroad, which will hopefully help me broaden my understanding of the world.”
“It makes me feel like, ‘Wow!’ and ‘Keep up the good work!’ It is a blessing, and I am really grateful,” said Mojica. “I plan to use my National Merit Award to attend an honors college program and continue studying engineering in the fall.”
Congratulations to Devanathan, Mojica and Xiang for this tremendous accomplishment.
For more information about NMSC and its National Merit Scholarship Program, visit www.nationalmerit.org.
