Nine Lake Forest, Lake Bluff Residents Win Merit Scholarships

LAKE FOREST, IL — Eight Lake Forest and Lake Bluff residents have been awarded college scholarships from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. They include four winners scholarships sponsored by colleges, four winners of those scholarships sponsored by corporations and one winner of a cash scholarship from the organization's own funds.

National Merit picks 2,500 winners of its cash scholarships among those judged to have the "strongest combination of accomplishments, skills and potential for success in rigorous college studies," according to the Evanston-based nonprofit. Each state's number of winners is proportional to its share of the nation's population.

Each college-sponsored scholarship provides between $500 and $2,000 every year for up to four years of undergraduate study, according to National Merit. This year, there are 167 colleges and universities underwriting about 4,100 college sponsored scholarships. They include 92 private schools and 75 public ones spanning 43 states and Washington, D.C. The winners are picked from about 15,000 National Merit finalists by school officials from the sponsoring institutions.

Last fall, fifteen seniors from the class of 2020 at Lake Forest schools, including nine from LFHS, were named National Merit semifinalists.

According to the nonprofit, five Lake Forest residents were among the winners of college-sponsored and cash scholarships announced so far:

John A. Clawson, a graduate of Lake Forest High School, was awarded a college-sponsored scholarship to Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. His probable career field was listed as undecided.

Garifalia M. Kapsalis, a Lake Forest High School graduate who intends to study political science, was awarded a $2,500 cash scholarship out of National Merit's own funds.

James Dirker Manzer, a graduate of Loyola Academy who intends to pursue a career in investment banking, was awarded a college-sponsored scholarship to Tulane University in New Orleans.

Nicole W. Tong, a Lake Forest Academy graduate with a probable career in the field of computer science, was awarded a college-sponsored scholarship to Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts.

Carson Ward, a Lake Forest High School graduate who plans to pursue a career in finance, was awarded a college-sponsored scholarship to the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Earlier this year, two Lake Forest High School seniors, a Lake Forest Academy senior, a Lake Bluff resident who attended the Illinois Math and Science Academy and a Lake Forest resident who recently graduated from Stevenson High School were awarded corporate-sponsored scholarships, which are usually available to the family of those who work for participating employers.

In last year's class of 2019, three of the four Lake Forest High School students named semifinalists were awarded college scholarships.

Earlier:

• Lake Forest, Lake Bluff Students Win National Merit Scholarships
• 15 Seniors At Lake Forest Schools Named National Merit Semifinalists
• Three National Merit Scholarship Winners At LFHS Among Four Semifinalists