National Merit Scholarships: Who Won In RI?

BARRINGTON, RI — Nationwide, some 7,500 high school seniors are expected to collect National Merit Scholarships. So far, three rounds of winners have been announced. The first round included students who won scholarships from corporations. The second round named the winners the National Merit Scholarship Corporation chose itself. The third round added the finalists whose colleges gave them scholarships. One more round is coming in July.

On April 19, the corporate-sponsored winners were announced. More than 1,000 U.S. students won these awards. These students come from a pool of National Merit Scholarship finalists who are also children of full-time U.S. employees, or residents of communities connected to the business, or who plan to pursue a major or career the corporation wants to promote. The scholarship amounts vary. Some are one-time payments between $2,500 and $5,000. But most are renewable for up to four years, with amounts between $500 and $10,000.

On May 10, the corporation announced the Rhode Islanders who will receive its National Merit Scholarships. These are one-time payments of $2,500. The winners are selected from the finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies. Eight Rhode Islanders made the grade. The number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of thenation’s graduating high school seniors, National Merit said.

Last, on June 7, 3,200 winners of college-sponsored merit scholarships were announced. These students will collect between $500 and $2,000 for up to four years of study. They were chosen by the colleges they will attend from the pool of finalists in the 2017 National Merit Scholarship Program. An additional group of Scholars will be announced in July, bringing the total number of college-sponsored Merit Scholarship recipients in the 2017 competition to approximately 4,000.

National Merit Scholars ($2,500)

1. Richard F. Carolan, of Barrington, from Barrington High. Probable career field: Engineering.
2. Sydney Jenkins, of Hope, from Moses Brown School in Providence. Probable career field: Astrophysics.
3. Amanda S. Carberry, of Narragansett, from Narragansett High. Probable career field: International Human Rights.
4. Michael Garvey, of Newport, from Rogers High. Probable career field: Computer Science.
5. Michaela F. Gamache, of North Smithfield, from North Smithfield High. Probable career field: Engineering
6. Aaron K. Cho, of Providence, from Classical High. Undecided about career field.
7. Ruby E. Schnirman, of Providence, from Wheeler School. Probable career field: Biology
8. Jessica C. McDonald, of Tiverton, from St. Mary Academy Bay View, in Riverside. Probable career field: Mathematics

Corporate-Sponsored National Merit Scholars ($500 to $10,000)

1. David W. Cabatingan, of Cumberland, from Cumberland High, won the Nelson F. Peterson Scholarship sponsored by Genentech. The scholarships are given to children of full-time employees in the U.S. His probable career field: Computer Engineering.

2. John D. Beretta, of Jamestown, from Providence Country Day School, won, the Metlife Foundation Scholarship. The Metlife scholarships are given to children of full-time Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. employees in the U.S. His probable career field: Medicine.

College-Sponsored Merit Scholarship Winners ($200 to $2,000)

1. Flora R. Baldwin, of Barrington, from Barrington High, has won the National Merit Harvey Mudd College Scholarship. Her probable career field: Chemical Engineering. The school is in Claremont, California.

2. Declan P. Smith, of Providence, from Bishop Hendricken High in Warwick, has won the National Merit University of Alabama Scholarship. His probable career field: Law.

3. Elena C. Robson, of Riverside, from Barrington Christian Academy in Barrington, has won the National Merit University of Rochester Scholarship. Her probable career field: Psychology.

4. Zachary P. Lapointe, of Saunderstown, from North Kingstown High, has won the National Merit Northeastern University Scholarship. His probable career field: Mechanical Engineering.

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