Nat’l Merit Finalists Named

(Submitted by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation)

(Evanston, Ill.) On Monday, officials of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced the names of approximately 15,000 finalists in the 62^nd annual National Merit Scholarship Program. These individuals have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth about $33 million that will be offered this spring.

From the approximately 1.6 million juniors in more than 22,000 high schools, Johnston High School had seven students achieve the finalist status this year. These students submitted a detailed scholarship application that includes their academic record, leadership and employment history, participation in school and community, personal essay and teacher recommendations. They then took the SAT this past fall to complete the final criteria for possible selection. Congratulations to these outstanding students!

Our Johnston Dragon National Merit finalists are:

: Peter Beebe

: Afshan Chandani

: Grant Fuhr

: Nicole Hobson

: Justin Hu

: Nathan Zoss

: Xiao Liu* Ms. Liu is currently an early college entrant at USC and her finalist standing will be reviewed upon receipt of her final transcript from USC. If she meets all criteria, she will be a National Merit Finalist as well.