5 New Trier Students Named National Merit Scholars

EVANSTON, IL — The National Merit Scholarship Corporation made its first of four announcement of this year's scholarship winners last week. Five New Trier High School students were among the more than 1,000 high school seniors awarded corporate-sponsored scholarships financed by about 160 companies, foundations and business organizations, according to the Evanston-based nonprofit.

The winners were selected from a group of finalists meeting the criteria of the scholarship sponsors. Corporations provide National Merit scholarships for finalists who are children of employees, residents of communities where the company does business or students who intend to pursue areas of academic study and careers that the sponsoring company wants to encourage, according to a release.

The corporate-sponsored scholarships range from annual stipends ranging from $500 to $10,000 to single payment awards of between $2,500 to $5,000. Over the 64 years of the National Merit competitions, corporate sponsors have spent or pledged more than $800 million to the program, it said.

The recipients of NMSC $2,500 scholarships will be announced May 8, and college-sponsored scholarship awards will be announced on June 5 and July 15. National Merit said it will award more than $31 million to about 7,600 high school seniors this year.

The following New Trier High School students received 2019 corporate-sponsored scholarships from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation:

Max T. Bickers, of Winnetka, expects to pursue a computer science career. He was awarded the National Merit Boeing Scholarship. The Chicago-based aerospace and defense firm sponsors annual awards for children of employees. Any child of an employee qualifying as a National Merit finalist is offered an award.

Charles B. Coppieters 't Wallant, of Kenilworth, expects to pursue a career in bioengineering. He was awarded the National Merit Abbvie Inc. Scholarship. The North Chicago-based pharmaceutical company awards scholarships to any one of its workers' children named National Merit finalists.

Charles R. Forbes, of Winnetka, intends to pursue a career in business. He was awarded the National Merit PWC Charitable Foundation Scholarship. The Tampa, Florida-based nonprofit is the philanthropic arm of PriceWaterhouseCoopers and provides 15 awards for National Merit finalists who are children of the company's partners, principals and staff.

Samantha N. Fountain, of Wilmette, plans to pursue a career in medicine. She was awarded the National Merit Pepsico Foundation Scholarship. The foundation was founded in 1962 as the philanthropic arm of the multinational food and beverage corporation and offers scholarships to all National Merit finalists who are children of an employee of PepsiCo, Inc. or its divisions, subsidiaries or affiliates.

Ella E. Schotz, of Wilmette, intends to pursue a career in public policy with a focus on education reform. She was awarded the National Merit Hill-Rom Scholarship. The Batesville, Indiana-based maker of medical equipment awards three corporate-sponsored National Merit scholarships to children of its workers.

Earlier: 31 New Trier Students Named National Merit Semifinalists