2 Pleasanton Students Receive 2023 National Merit Scholarships

PLEASANTON, CA — Two Pleasanton students - one from Amador Valley and one from Foothill - received corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarships this year, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced Wednesday.

Sponsors from 107 corporations, foundations and business organizations award scholarships to finalists who are either children of their employees; residents of communities the company serves; or plan to pursue college majors or careers the sponsor wishes to encourage, according to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

Wednesday's scholarship winners were the first group of recipients announced as part of the 68th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.

Some of the scholarships provide a single payment between $2,500 and $5,000. Others provide annual stipends ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 per year. The scholarships may be used at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university.

Here are the Pleasanton winners and their probable career fields:

• Lauryn K. Guan, Foothill High School, Jerry J. Junkins Memorial Scholarship, medicine.
• Neha Sivaraman, Amador Valley High School, Ellucian Scholarship, medicine.

"Congratulations to both Lauryn and Neha on earning these prestigious scholarships," PUSD Superintendent Dr. David Haglund said in a statement. "This is the first of many achievements, I'm sure, as they pursue their career pathway in medicine and make the world a better place in the process."

Across the Tri-Valley, Danville saw three winners, San Ramon five, Dublin two, and Livermore one.

Nationwide, 840 high school seniors received merit scholarships financed by some 107 corporations, company foundations, and other business organizations.

In 2023, 7,250 scholarships worth nearly $28 million were warded in multiple rounds, including scholarships underwritten by National Merit's own funds and by approximately 340 business organizations, colleges and universities.

Students entered the competition as juniors by taking the 2021 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which served as an initial screen for entrants. The scholarship winners were judged to have the strongest combination of academic and extracurricular achievements, school endorsements, and potential for university success.