Libertyville Students Receive National Merit Scholarships

LIBERTYVILLE, IL – The National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced its first round of 2019 scholarship winners Wednesday. Several local students were among 1,000 high school seniors to be picked for corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarship awards, which are finances by dozens of corporations, company foundations and other business organizations, according to a news release. Two additional rounds of scholarship winners will be announced in coming months.

The prizes for the corporate-sponsored winners range from annual stipends between $500 and $10,000 per year while some awards are single payment payouts that range from $2,500 to $5,000, according to the news release.
The winners were selected from a group of finalists and met criteria provided by their scholarship sponsors. Such criteria could include whether the students are children of an employee at the company, are residents of communities the company serves, or who plan to pursue college majors or careers the sponsor wishes to encourage.

The following local students received National Merit Scholarships:

• Annika N. Bjorklund of Libertyville. She is a Libertyville High School student and her probable career field graphic design. She received a National Merit USG Corporation Scholarship.
• Bert L. Cao of Libertyville. He attends Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy in Aurora and his porbable career field in computer science. He received a National Merit Astellas Pharma US, Inc. Scholarship.
• Georg J. Hayek of Libertyville. He attends Libertyville High School and his probable career field is astrophysics. He received a National Merit Motorola Solutions Scholarship.
• Katie Q. Lu of Libertyville. She attends Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy in Aurora and her probable career field is in computer science. She received a National Merit AbbVie Inc. Scholarship.
• Ian L. Smith of Libertyville. Smith attends Libertyville High School and his probable career field is in engineering. He received a National Merit Snap-On Incorporated Scholarship.

The National Merit Scholarship Foundation will announce $2,500 award winners on May 8 and winners of its college-sponsored awards on June 5 and July 15. In total, 7,600 students from across the state will receive $31 million worth of National Merit Scholarship awards this year.