Seven Named 2021 Nat’l Merit Finalists

On Monday, officials of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced the names of finalists in the annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Seven Johnston High School seniors have achieved the finalist nomination. They are Morgan Dunn, James Grimm, Karshana Kalyanaraman, Zoey Kloewer, Alexander Lehman, Abbie McLaren, and James Srail. Congratulations to these outstanding students on their accomplishments!

These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,600 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $30 million that will be offered this spring.

From the approximately 1.5 million juniors in about 21,000 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.

To become a Finalist, the Semifinalist and a high school official must submit a detailed scholarship application, in which they provide information about the Semifinalist’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received. A Semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, and write an essay.

NMSC, a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance, was established in 1955 specifically to conduct the annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Scholarships are underwritten by NMSC with its own funds and by approximately 400 business organizations and higher education institutions that share NMSC’s goals of honoring the nation’s scholastic champions and encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence.