Westminster Schools Students Named 2015 National Merit Scholarship Competition Semifinalists

Staff Report

The Westminster Schools has announced 36 students as semifinalists in the 60th annual National Merit Scholarship Program:

• Lyle Beavers
• Emily A. Chu
• Samuel B. Crane
• Mary B. Crosier
• Caroline G. Daugherty
• Elizabeth R. Ferguson
• Hannah L. Gay
• Diana C. Ge
• Benjamin M. Greenberg
• Naman Gupta
• Henry B. Harris
• Mary Katherine Henry
• William Hudson
• Evan A. Katz
• Erin A. Lamberth
• Hyo S. Lim
• Paul H. Miller
• Eric Odermatt
• Caleb A. Parikh
• Mckenzie Parks
• Charles M. Ramsey
• Deepti Rao
• Sarah A. Richard
• Laura K. Russell
• Erika L. Schumacher
• Samuel M. Seitz
• Mackenzie L. Shannon
• Rose B. Sheehan
• John J. Shen
• Annabel D. Shu
• Austin C. Spalding
• William H. Stuart
• Tara L. Subramaniam
• Charles F. Trense
• Marshall J. Weber
• Jonathan Yu

These high school seniors are among approximately 16,000 semifinalists in the 2015 competition, and they will have the opportunity to compete for approximately 7,600 National Merit Scholarships worth about $33 million. The scholarships will be offered in the spring of 2015.

To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the finalist level of the competition. About 90 percent of the semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing, and more than half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance, was established in 1955 specifically to conduct the annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Scholarships are underwritten by NMSC with its own funds and by approximately 440 business organizations and higher education institutions that share NMSC’s goals of honoring the nation’s scholastic champions and encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence.