9 San Diego County Students Receive 2026 National Merit Scholarships

SAN DIEGO, CA — Nine high school students in San Diego County received corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarships this year, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced Wednesday.

The San Diego area winners in the 71st annual National Merit Scholarship Program are among 700 high school seniors nationally who received awards financed by about 115 corporations, company foundations and other business organizations, as well as several foundations and individual donors who have established endowments with National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

The San Diego area winners are:

Alpine

• Noah Seeno, El Capitan High School, Lakeside

Cardiff

• Calvin K. Kuta, San Dieguito High School Academy, Encinitas

Coronado

• Roxanne Langevin, Coronado High School, Coronado

Ramona

• Peter F.B. Campbell, Mountain Valley Academy, Ramona

San Diego

• Rashmi Chelliserry, Westview High School, San Diego
• Lauren Kan, Canyon Crest Academy, San Diego
• Akari T. Masham, Rancho Bernardo High School, San Diego
• Kaylee Briscoe Tichenor, University City High School, San Diego
• Max Ying, La Jolla High School, La Jolla

Most awards are renewable for up to four years and offer annual stipends between $1,000 to $10,000. Others provide one-time awards between $2,500 to $10,000. The scholarships may be used at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university.

This is the first announcement of National Merit Scholars this year. More winners will be announced in May, June and July.

By the conclusion of this year's competition, about 6,700 high school seniors will receive National Merit Scholarships worth about $24 million, according to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.