New Trier, NSCDS Students Win National Merit Cash Scholarships

WINNETKA, IL — Five New Trier high school students and a student at North Shore Country Day School have won cash scholarships after they were named Wednesday among the latest group of National Merit Scholars. Each will receive a $2,500 cash payment from the nonprofit, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced.

Winners of the $2,500 scholarships were judged to possess the strongest combination of skills, accomplishments and potential to succeed in a challenging college environment. They are selected by a committee comprised of college admissions officials and high school counselors from among the pool of more than 15,000 finalists, according to the Evanston-based nonprofit. There were 111 winners in Illinois, as the number of winners in each state in proportional to the state's share of the nation's total number of graduating high school seniors.

• Emily Dale, a New Trier senior from Kenilworth, plans to pursue a career in computer engineering.
• Paige Forester, a North Shore Country Day School senior from Glencoe, plans to pursue a career in engineering.
• Alexandra Gjaja, a New Trier senior from Wilmette, plans to pursue a career in academia.
• Eleanor Kaplan, a New Trier senior from Winnetka, plans to pursue a career in epidemiology.
• John Keenan, a New Trier senior from Glenview, plans to pursue a career in applied mathematics.
• Asher Noel, a New Trier senior from Kenilworth, plans to pursue a career in astrophysics.

National Merit announced more than 1,000 winners of corporate-sponsored scholarships last month. In June and July, it will announce the winners of 4,100 scholarships sponsored by colleges. By the end of the 2018-19 school year, the organization said it would have awarded more than $31 million worth of scholarships to about 7,600 of more than 15,000 finalists in the 2019 National Merit Scholarship program.

Earlier:

• 31 New Trier Students Named National Merit Semifinalists
• 5 New Trier Students Awarded Corporate-Sponsored National Merit Scholarships