National Merit Scholarship Winners From Kensington

KENSINGTON, MD — The National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced over 3,000 college-sponsored scholarship winners Wednesday, and three of the winners are students from Kensington, according to an announcement by the parent organization.

Noah H. Friedlander, a student at Montgomery Blair High School; Catherine M. Paxton, a student at Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School; and Aleksandra J. Wellisz, a student at Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart are Kensington's National Merit Scholarship winners. Paxton plans to work in epidemiology, Wellisz in writing and Friedlander is undecided.

Earlier in the spring, winners of corporate-sponsored and $2,500 National Merit Scholarships were announced. More winners will be announced in July, bringing the total of college-sponsored scholarships to 4,000. In all, 7,500 high school seniors will receive $32 million in National Merit Scholarships, sponsored by both corporations and higher education institutions.

Students were entered into the competition by taking the Preliminary SATs as juniors. In the fall, 16,000 semifinalists were named, representing less than 1 percent of the country's seniors. Semifinalists submitted additional applications with an essay, information about extracurricular activities, leadership positions and awards, and a recommendation from a school official.

NMSC is a not-for-profit corporation that was established in 1955. The organization says its purpose is to "enhance educational opportunities for America’s scholastically talented youth and to encourage the pursuit of academic excellence."

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