2 Daniel Hand Students Named National Merit Scholarship Winners

MADISON, CT —National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced this year’s National Merit $2500 Scholarship winners. And two Madison students are among them.

The 2,500 Merit Scholar designees were chosen from a talent pool of more than 15,000 outstanding Finalists in the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program.

Both Daniel Hand High School seniors, the winners are Sebastien T. Lowy and Max X. Wu.

Wu was featured in Patch stories about his and fellow student Charlie McIntyre's free Shoreline Debate Academy for shoreline-area middle schoolers.

Lowy plans to study and have a career in chemistry. Wu's probable career path is law. Both Lowy and Wu have history with National Merit Scholarships.

National Merit $2500 Scholarship winners are the finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies. The number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the nation’s graduating high school seniors.

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: the academic record, including difficulty level 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.