KATY, TX (Covering Katy News) - Six Katy ISD students are Corporate National Merit Scholarship award winners. Their names were announced this week as part of the first group of winners in the 69th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.
Five students are from Seven Lakes High School and one is from Tompkins High School.
Across the country, 770 distinguished high school seniors have been awarded corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarships, which are financed by 94 corporations, company foundations, and other business organizations.
The winners are:
Sarah Jane Clarridge
- Seven Lakes High School
- Probable career field: Law
- Air Liquide America Scholarship
Aayush K. Ishware
- Seven Lakes High School
- Probable career field: Computer Science
- Aspen Technology, Inc. Scholarship
Anagha K. Menon
- Seven Lakes High School
- Probable career field: Medicine
- Marsh McLennan Scholarship
Sankalp Prashanth
- Seven Lakes High School
- Probable career field: Computer Engineering
- Emerson Electronic Co., Scholarship
Yui Yamaashi
- Seven Lakes High School
- Probable career field: Biomedicine
- Occidental Petroleum Corporation Scholarship
Kenneth J. Yao
- Tompkins High School
- Probable career field: Music
- Chevron Scholarship
The selection process for these scholarships is rigorous. Scholars are chosen from students who have advanced to the Finalist level in the National Merit Scholarship competition and meet the specific criteria of their scholarship sponsors. These corporate sponsors provide National Merit Scholarships for Finalist children of their employees, residents of communities the company serves, or students who plan to pursue college majors or careers the sponsor wishes to encourage.
Most of these awards are renewable for up to four years of college undergraduate study and provide annual stipends ranging from $1,000 to $10,000. Some provide a single payment between $2,500 and $5,000. Recipients can use their awards at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university.
To be considered for a National Merit Scholarship, Semifinalists had to fulfill requirements to advance to Finalist standing. Each Semifinalist completed a detailed scholarship application, which included writing an essay and providing information about extracurricular activities, awards, and leadership positions. Semifinalists also had to have an outstanding academic record, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, and earn SAT® or ACT® scores that confirmed their qualifying test performance. From the Semifinalist group, over 15,000 met Finalist requirements.