Semifinals in the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program have been announced.
The program honors individual students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies. The program does not measure the quality or effectiveness of education in a specific school.
Nationwide, about 16,000 students qualified as semifinalists. They will continue in the competition for 7,600 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $31 million in total. The winners will be named in the spring.
Three types of National Merit Scholarships will be awarded. Every finalist will compete for one of 2,500 National Merit $2,500 Scholarships, which are awarded on a state-representational basis.
About 1,000 corporate Merit Scholarships will be provided by corporations and business organizations who meet their specified criteria. In addition, about 180 colleges and universities are expected to finance about 4,100 college-sponsored awards for finalists who attend the sponsor institution.
Winners will be announced beginning in April 2020 through July.
Students in the Colorado Community Media coverage area who are semifinalists are:
Aurora
Cherokee Trail High School: Saurav S. Behera, William D. Harmon, Lily M. Messenger, Hannah Yoon
Grandview High School, Justin B. Crounse, Paxton G. Decker, Steven H. Oakes, Maxwell Prue, Amanda K. Smith, Michael S. Walker
Regis Jesuit High School, boys division: Nicholas P. Dermer, Jacob P. Storch, Ryan P. Tierney.
Regis Jesuit High School, girls division: Molly X. Bowers, Isalina Colsman
Broomfield
Jefferson Academy High School: Alan F. Sujansky
Legacy High School: Colin M. England, Sophia L. Hendrix, Ashley Miller, Faiza F. Shaik, Brynn E. Siles
Castle Rock
Douglas County High School: Kyle L. Lewis, Ramyukta P. Vakkalanka
Centennial
Arapahoe High School: Tanner W. Brummond, Delia G. Guilbert, Jalil T. Rezek, Andrew M. Wood
Eaglecrest High School: Anna R. Ames
Cherry Hills Village
Kent Denver School: Jude Barakat, Mika N. Fisher, Jeremy P. Gart, Eliot L. Hodges, Lauren R. Huttner, Ashley H. Kim, Jack London, Charlotte P. Mauger, Kayla M. Robertson, Christopher J. Tsai, Benjamin B. Zimmerman
Elizabeth
Elizabeth High School: Brandon Marshall
Golden
Golden High School: Natsumi L. Burde, Devin Christopher Prehn
Greenwood Village
Cherry Creek High School: Evelyn A. Bodoni, Gursimar S. Chadha, Zachary E. Chapman, Sophia Chen, Anna Cramer, Ana Gijon Van Linden, Rachel A. Gu, Nicole Hankovszky, Siddarth Ijju, Natalie R. Keller, Christopher W. Khoo, Malo R. Koob, Jacqueline Lasseter, Mia Malden, Austen T. Mazenko, Nathan J. Miao, Jamie J. Morgan, Ava N. Palicki, Abigail E. Peters, Annika V. Petras, Justin M. Rapp, Alex I. Schiff, William O. Scott, Vatsal S. Shrivastava, Fathima Z. Thathey, Zachary A. Wang, Emily Z. Zhang, Angela Zhao
Highlands Ranch
Highlands Ranch High School: Sophia C. Mickus, Isaac C. Resnikoff, Devin J. Warner
Mountain Vista High School: Andrew G. Burcham, Trevor W. Fox, Keelin D. Hunt, Christopher M. Kraft, Allison J. O’Brien
Rock Canyon High School: Jayendra S. Chauhan, Derek B. Fearon, Viyan A. Giri, Hope E. James, Ashley S. Kozlowski, Wesley Shih, Sage J. Wheeler, Felix S. Wilton, Emily Yi, Vivian Zheng
Skyview Academy: Rachel K. Bigler, Anand M. Chundi
ThunderRidge High School: Brady D. LeJeune-DeAcutis, Reed A. Rohr, Melanie Z. Zhou
Valor Christian High School: Gregory A. Natvig
Littleton
Chatfield High School: Sara G. Kim, Owen E. Petruzzi, Nicholas T. Stone
Columbine High School: Josephine Cao
Dakota Ridge High School: Marco E. Cordero
Parker
Legend High School: Rachel K. Absher
Ponderosa High School: Kayla H. Fairweather, Thomas Starr
Thornton
Horizon High School: Bridget Ediger
The Pinnacle Charter School: Dylan R. Carter
Stargate Charter School: Joseph R. Claver, Aditya Shankarling, Jacob C. Tow
Westminster
Standley Lake High School: Erin E. Paik, Aimee Yan
