Somers Resident Named Merit Scholar

Today, National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced this year’s National Merit $2,500 Scholarship winners.

The 2,500 Merit Scholar designees were chosen from a talent pool of more than 15,000 outstanding Finalists in the 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program. Today's release is the second announcement of winners for 2016. On April 20, more than 1,000 recipients of corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards were named, and on June 1 and July 18, some 4,000 college-sponsored Merit Scholarship winners will be announced. By the conclusion of this year’s competition, about 7,500 academic champions will have won National Merit Scholarships worth approximately $33 million.

Here are the local winners in this round.

Ardsley

Peter J. Zeiger, Ardsley High School

Armonk

Nicole H. Kim Byram Hills High School

George N. Wangensteen, Hackley School

Bedford

Anna-Sophia C. Boguraev, Fox Lane High School

Briarcliff Manor

Christopher J. Evanko, Horace Greeley High School

Chappaqua

Graham R. Blair, Horace Greeley High School

Jordan I. Schmolka, Horace Greeley High School

Cortlandt

Karina M. Franke, Hackley School

Julianna N. Sullivan, Ursuline Academy

Dobbs Ferry

Sofia N. Checa, Dobbs Ferry High School

Granite Springs

Adam W. Shelby, Somers High School

Hastings-on-Hudson

Katharine Barr Berman, Hastings High School

Larchmont

Victor V. Odouard, Mamaroneck High School

Pelham

Una C. Corbett, Pelham Memorial High School

John J. Roche, Regis High School NY

Alice W. Xue, Pelham Memorial High School

Pleasantville

Kevin Chang, Byram Hills High School

Laura C. Chapman, Pleasantville High School

Sophie Dora Tulchin, Pleasantville High School

Poughkeepsie

Kyle D. Patterson, Arlington High School, LaGrangeville

Rhinebeck

Barr Lavi-Romer, Rhinebeck Central School

Rye

Julia H. Donovan, Rye High School

David G. Townley, Rye Country Day School

Rye Brook

Melissa M. Blum, Blind Brook High School

Jacob H. Zeitlin, Blind Brook High School

Scarsdale

Harry S. Chalfin, Scarsdale HIgh School

Jeremy B. Goldstein, Edgemont High School

Charles B. Musoff, Scarsdale High School

Garrett W. Tanzer, Scarsdale High School

Stony Point

Sonak Kolar, North Rockland High School

Tappan

Alice M. Tao, Tappan Zee High School

Yonkers

Christian D. Eggers, Riverdale Country School

National Merit $2500 Scholarship winners are the Finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous collegestudies. The number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of thenation’s graduating high school seniors.

These Scholars were selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors, who appraised a substantial amount of information submitted by both the Finalists and their high schools: the academic record, including diffi culty level of subjects studied and grades earned; scores from two standardized tests; contributions and leadership in school and community activities; an essay written by the Finalist; and a recommendation written by a high

NMSC finances most of these single-payment National Merit $2500 Scholarships.

Corporations and company foundations that sponsor awards through NMSC also help underwrite these scholarships with grants they provide in lieu of paying administrative fees. Scholars may use their awards at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university.

2016 National Merit Scholarship Competition

This year’s competition for National Merit Scholarships began in October 2014 when over 1.5 million juniors in some 22,000 high schools took the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. Last fall, the highest-scoring participants in each state, representing less than 1 percent of the nation’s high school seniors, were named Semifinalists on a state-representational basis.

Only these 16,000 Semifinalists had an opportunity to continue in the competition.

From the Semifinalist group, 15,000 students met the very high academic standards and other requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition.