10 Wheaton, West Chicago Students Named Semifinalists In National Merit Scholarship Program

WHEATON, IL — Ten Wheaton and West Chicago students have been named as semifinalists in the 2027 National Merit Scholarship Program.

The following students are among the 16,000 semifinalists in the 72nd annual program that awards nearly $24 million in scholarships to high school seniors across the country.

• Yasiel Barajas-Ramirez of West Chicago Community High School
• Bethany Buursma of Wheaton Academy
• Anna Carroll of West Chicago Community High School
• Raymond Novakowski of Wheaton North High School
• Emily Phillips of Wheaton Warrenville South High School
• Sean Phillips of Wheaton North High School
• Kate M. Reidenbach of St. Francis High School
• Nikolai Rowland of Wheaton Warrenville South High School
• Alexander Shah of Wheaton Warrenville South High School
• Anthony Slaven of Wheaton Warrenville South High School

More than 15,000 semifinalists are expected to advance to the finalist level. Those who will move on will learn if they've earned the next distinction in February.

To become a finalist, semifinalists will have to submit a detailed application sharing information about the semifinalist's academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards he has received.

To be considered, semifinalists must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn SAT or ACT scores that confirm the student's earlier performance on the qualifying test.

About 6,700 scholarships will be awarded to winners in the spring.

Patch Editor Emily Rosca contributed reporting.