District 113 Students Awarded Merit Scholarships To Northwestern

DEERFIELD, IL — A pair of Township High School District 113 graduating seniors were awarded scholarships to study at Northwestern University. One student from Deerfield High School student, another from Highland Park High School and a Highwood resident were among the latest group of about 3,500 National Merit scholars announced by the Evanston-based National Merit Scholarship Corporation Wednesday. The winners were selected from among 15,000 finalists who met academic and other requirements by college admissions officials to receive college-sponsored scholarships. The recent graduates will receive between $500 and $2,000 annually to cover up to four years of undergraduate study.

Caedon J. Hsieh, of Deerfield, is interested in pursuing a career in computer science. Highland Park resident Mark R. Overby has a probable career field in business administration. Both were awarded National Merit scholarships sponsored by Northwestern University. And Maelee I. Chen, of Highwood, who studied at the Illinois Math and Science Academy in Aurora and has a probable career field in biology, was awarded a National Merit scholarship to Boston University.

Students were evaluated on their academic record, including how difficult their classes were, standardized test scores, extracurricular contributions, an essay and a recommendation from a high school official.

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation is a nonprofit founded in 1955. A majority of the $31 million in college scholarships it distributes are underwritten by sponsors – about 178 colleges and 232 corporations.

Last month, the organization awarded $2,500 single-payment scholarships to four Highland Park residents. The month prior, the organization named over 1,000 winners of its corporate sponsored awards.

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