29 Montco Students Named National Merit Scholarship Winners

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation has announced the winners of its $2500 scholarship competition, including 29 students from Montgomery County schools.

The 2,500 Merit Scholar designees around the country were chosen from a talent pool of more than 15,000 outstanding finalists in the 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program.

Upper Dublin led the way in Montgomery County with student winners. Abington High School was close behind with three winners.

All told, the 29 winners came from 19 different Montgomery County schools. 

Winners are the finalists in each state which are judged by the committee to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies.

The number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the nation’s graduating high school seniors.

The winners are selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors, who look over an expansive portfolio on each individual student, including academic records, extracurricular activities, standardized test results, leadership skills, an essay, and a letter of recommendation.

In Montgomery County, the following students have been named winners:

• Harry H. Xi, Upper Dublin HS
• Calvin T. Chan, Upper Dublin HS
• Henry N. Hoffman, Upper Dublin HS
• Amy Li, Upper Dublin HS
• Yuan Zun Peng, Wissahickon HS
• Joshua Gardner, Abington HS
• Sophia Buckingham, Abington HS
• Markarios Chung, Abington Friends School
• Lucy Silbaugh, Abington Friends School
• Christopher Dragomir, Abington HS
• Angela J. Luo, Baldwin School
• Connor William Todd, Harriton HS
• Calista L. Dominy, Spring-Ford HS
• David Wang, Perkiomen Valley HS
• Brittainy Lovett, The Shipley School
• McKinley Lovett, The Shipley School
• Hirsh S. Sioda, Souderton HS
• Andrew Nyholm, Upper Moreland HS
• Clair B. Xiao, Lower Moreland HS
• Eleanor Avril, Germantown Friends School
• Chuquing Yang, North Penn HS
• Todd Gilman, Lower Merion HS
• Miryl Hillbrand, Kohelet Yeshiva HS
• Vera Lee, Harriton
• Catherine B. Harrity, Germantown Friends School
• Daniel Finkel, Homeschool (Wyncote)
• Rucha G. Alur, Friends Central
• Chaim Avram Bettigole Zeff, Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy
• Jacob J. Gordon, Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy