2 San Ramon Students Awarded National Merit Scholarships

SAN RAMON, CA — Two SRVUSD students received college-sponsored National Merit Scholarships.

Kian Kasad, a California High School student who listed computer science as a probable career field, received a Purdue University Scholarship. Riyanka Narasimhan, a Dougherty Valley High School student whose probable career field is medicine, received a National Merit Vanderbilt University Scholarship.

Kasad and Narasimhan are two of over 3,000 winners of National Merit Scholarships financed by 153 U.S. colleges and universities, according to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. Each institution selected a group of finalists who plan to attend in the fall. The winners receive between $500 and $2000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study. An additional group of college-sponsored scholars will be announced in July.

In all, over 7,140 high school students will be awarded approximately $28 million in National Merit Scholarships this year.

In 2023 so far, nine San Ramon students have been awarded different types of National Merit Scholarships.

In the latest round of college-sponsored scholarships, no students at Danville SRVUSD schools were selected, but although a student at the private Athenian School received one.

“It is wonderful to see two of our students chosen as College-Sponsored Merit Scholarship recipients," SRVUSD Superintendent Dr. John Malloy said in a statement. “They have achieved this through commitment and hard work, and I have no doubt they will continue to thrive in their future endeavors. We are extremely proud of them, especially as the only two public school students in the entire county to receive this honor.”

Two students in Pleasanton, one in Dublin, and one in Walnut Creek also received scholarships.

Students were entered into the National Merit Scholarship competition as juniors taking the PSAT in 2021. In September, around 16,000 semifinalists were named based on each state's proportion of graduating seniors. Semifinalists were the top-scoring entrants in their states and represent fewer than 1 percent of seniors in the United States.

To be considered for finalist status, semifinalists had to submit a detailed scholarship application with an essay and details on extracurricular activities, awards, and leadership positions as well as demonstrate an outstanding academic record and have an endorsement from a high school official. Around 15,000 finalists met the requirements for finalist status and were eligible to be chosen for corporate-sponsored, National Merit Scholarship-sponsored and college-sponsored awards.

For more information, visit nationalmerit.org.