9 Woodbury Students Awarded National Merit Scholarships

WOODBURY, MN— A student from Apple Valley has been named winner of a 2021 corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarship Program.

25 Minnesota students total have been awarded National Merit Scholarships.

Here are the students from Woodbury who were awarded the scholarships:

• Allison M. Benjamin, Woodbury- National Merit 3M Scholarship
• Isak K. Dai, Woodbury- National Merit 3M Scholarship
• Karina M. Dovgodko, Woodbury- National Merit 3M Scholarship
• William B. Krisko, Woodbury- National Merit 3M Scholarship
• Christina J. Li, Woodbury- National Merit 3M Scholarship
• Dhruv M. Muppidi, Woodbury- National Merit 3M Scholarship
• Garrett W. Strain, Woodbury- National Merit 3M Scholarship
• David L. Wang, Woodbury- National Merit 3M Scholarship
• Joey E. Wu, Woodbury- National Merit 3M Scholarship

The winners were announced on Wednesday and include approximately 1,000 high-school seniors from across the U.S. According to a press release from the National Merit Scholarship Program, the corporate scholarships are financed by about 140 corporations, company foundations and other business organizations.

The awards are renewable for up to four years of undergraduate study and students get a stipend that's anywhere between $1,000 - $10,000 each year. Some of the awards include a single payment between $2,500-$5,000.

More than 1.5 million students applied for the highly competitive scholarship and the program says that around 7,500 students will go on to win scholarships in 2021 that total $30 million. Winners of the $2,500 scholarships and the college-sponsored scholarships will be announced later this year.

A total of 16,000 students were selected as finalists for the scholarships and the final winners are candidates "judged to have the strongest combination of academic skills and achievements, extracurricular accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies."