KATY, Texas — Twenty-seven Katy ISD seniors have been named recipients of college-sponsored National Merit Scholarships, placing them among the nation's highest-achieving students and adding to the district's long-standing record of academic success.
The students represent six Katy ISD high schools — Cinco Ranch, Jordan, Katy, Seven Lakes, Taylor and Tompkins — and were selected through the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program. Their scholarships are sponsored by colleges and universities across the country.
Katy ISD Seniors Earn 27 National Merit Scholarships
The scholarships are awarded by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation to students who advance through one of the country's most competitive academic recognition programs.
"College-Sponsored National Merit Scholars exemplify academic excellence, perseverance and intellectual curiosity," Katy ISD Chief Academic Officer Christine Caskey said in a statement. "Earning a scholarship of this caliber is an extraordinary achievement that reflects years of academic dedication. We are incredibly proud of these students and look forward to the impact they will make in college and beyond."
District officials said the students' accomplishments reflect Katy ISD's commitment to academic excellence and preparing students for success beyond high school.
How Katy ISD Students Qualified for National Merit Scholarships
Students entered the National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) as juniors. More than 1.3 million students nationwide participated in this year's competition, but fewer than 1% advanced to semifinalist status.
Students who became finalists completed an extensive application process that included academic records, leadership experiences, extracurricular activities, recommendations and standardized test scores. Scholarship recipients were then selected by the colleges and universities they plan to attend.
List of Katy ISD's 2026 National Merit Scholarship Recipients
Katy High School
- Spencer T. Gernale — Texas A&M University Scholarship
Jordan High School
- Christian L. Hough — Texas A&M University Scholarship
- Rohan M. Kishore — Texas A&M University Scholarship
- George O. Rhoades — UT Dallas Scholarship
Cinco Ranch High School
- Ivan La — UT Dallas Scholarship
Taylor High School
- Joseph E. Cooper — Texas A&M University Scholarship
- Sheryl T. Surawijaya — Texas A&M University Scholarship
- Sophia Q. Tang — Texas A&M University Scholarship
Tompkins High School
- Ryan X. Du — Texas A&M University Scholarship
- Joshua C. Joiner — Texas A&M University Scholarship
- Abhinav Kanchupatla — Texas A&M University Scholarship
- Ryan Lin — Texas A&M University Scholarship
- Aahana Rao — Texas A&M University Scholarship
- Faizan Zameer — Texas A&M University Scholarship
Seven Lakes High School
- Autumn Brown — Texas A&M University Scholarship
- Emmanuelle Y. Chern — Texas A&M University Scholarship
- Saumya Milind Dharap — Texas A&M University Scholarship
- Jarrett T. Hutto — Texas A&M University Scholarship
- Rahid Ismail — Texas A&M University Scholarship
- Maimunah Kausar — Texas A&M University Scholarship
- Komal D. Maniar — Texas A&M University Scholarship
- Terynce Nguyen — Texas A&M University Scholarship
- An Q. Truong — Texas A&M University Scholarship
- Rohanna G. White — Texas A&M University Scholarship
- Ken H. Woodward — Texas A&M University Scholarship
- Erica C. Zhang — Texas A&M University Scholarship
- Michelle L. Zhang — Texas A&M University Scholarship