4 Solon Students Receive National Merit Scholarships

SOLON, OH — Four students with ties to Solon have been named 2017 National Merit Scholarship recipients for university sponsored scholarships. The students are among more than 3,200 winners nationwide, a group that was pulled from 1.6 million applicants and 15,000 finalists.

All winners received scholarships from the university they are planning on attending. The recipients were selected from a pool of finalists in the 2017 National Merit Scholarship Program. The awards range between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study. (Stay up-to-date on all local news by subscribing to the Solon Patch newsletter.)

The recipients from Solon include Abigail Crawford (homeschool), Kevin Johnson (Solon High), Milton Leonn (Solon High), and Joseph Riordan (Solon High). Crawford and Johnson both intend to stay in Ohio and attend the University of Cincinnati.

Crawford plans to study medicine when she becomes a Bearcat. Johnson intends to study intellectual property law.

Leonn plans to attend the University of Chicago and pursue a career in law. Riordan will attend Michigan State University and pursue a career in engineering.

The students had heavy competition for National Merit Scholarships. Some 1.6 million high school juniors nationwide entered the competition when they took part in the 2015 PSAT test.

A selection committee whittled down the entrants until 16,000 semifinalists had been announced. Semifinalists were then asked to submit a detailed scholarship application, which included an essay and information on their extracurricular activities, awards, and leadership positions. The students also had to be endorsed by a high school official and earn SAT high SAT scores. About 15,000 students met the finalist requirements.

Photo from Solon Schools