2 Encinitas Students Win National Merit Scholarships

Encinitas CA

12 May, 2022

12:16 PM

Description

ENCINITAS, CA — Twenty-eight high school students in San Diego County — including two from Encinitas — were named National Merit Scholars this week, a prestigious designation for 2,500 students that comes with a $2,500 scholarship. The scholarship winners were selected out of 15,000 candidates across the country, according to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. A committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors selected the winners as having the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills and potential for success in college. Finalists were judged based on their Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test score, their academic record, an essay, extracurricular activities and a recommendation from a high school official. In San Diego County, the following winners were announced: Evan C. Ballow of EncinitasSchool: San Dieguito Academy Probable career field: Civil EngineeringJonah K. Pawlak of EncinitasSchool: San Dieguito AcademyProbable career field: Mechanical EngineeringKatherine S. Frost of La JollaSchool: La Jolla High SchoolProbable career field: MarketingCaroline S. Gaffney of La JollaSchool: La Jolla High SchoolProbable career field: Wildlife ConservationEmma Hong of La JollaSchool: The Bishop's SchoolProbable career field: Electrical EngineeringClare K. Malhotra of La JollaSchool: The Bishop's SchoolProbable career field: UndecidedAndrew K. Park of La JollaSchool: La Jolla High SchoolProbable career field: EconomicsAyush Agrawal of San DiegoSchool: Canyon Crest AcademyProbable career field: Environmental EngineeringAshveen Banga of San DiegoSchool: Francis Parker SchoolProbable career field: Biomedical EngineeringTyler J. Bodenhamer of San DiegoSchool: Canyon Hills High SchoolProbable career field: Computer EngineeringOliver S. Britton of San DiegoSchool: Francis Parker SchoolProbable career field: Biochemical EngineeringHannah M. Chen of San DiegoSchool: Del Norte High SchoolProbable career field: Biomedical EngineeringSohan J. Chunduru of San DiegoSchool: La Jolla Country Day School Probable career field: Public PolicyAndrew K. Gao of San DiegoSchool: Canyon Crest AcademyProbable career field: BiotechnologyMeilene K. Hanaki of San DiegoSchool: University City High School Probable career field: Biochemical EngineeringDaniel S. Kim of San DiegoSchool: Mount Carmel High SchoolProbable career field: Mechanical EngineeringChengda Li of San DiegoSchool: Torrey Pines High SchoolProbable career field: Applied MathematicsVivian W. Li of San DiegoSchool: La Jolla Country Day SchoolProbable career field: Science/ResearchNicholas Xinquan Liu of San DiegoSchool: The Bishop's SchoolProbable career field: Computer ScienceMegan Peng of San DiegoSchool: Torrey Pines High SchoolProbable career field: LawEmerson Utgaard of San DiegoSchool: Patrick Henry High SchoolProbable career field: BioengineeringAakarsh Vermani of San DiegoSchool: Westview High SchoolProbable career field: Computer ScienceSophia P. Welsh of San DiegoSchool: Mira Mesa High School Probable career field: Biomedical EngineeringCaitlin Rose Wilson of San DiegoSchool: Point Loma High SchoolProbable career field: Biomedical EngineeringAmy Wang Xu of San DiegoSchool: Canyon Crest AcademyProbable career field: Science/ResearchMichael L. Zeng of San DiegoSchool: The Bishop's SchoolProbable career field: Computer ScienceJoshua E. Zhang of San DiegoSchool: Canyon Crest AcademyProbable career field: Business AdministrationVanessa Zhou of San DiegoProbable career field: BiomedicineSchool: Scripps Ranch High School The National Merit Scholarship awards are financed by the National Merit Scholarship Committee. Other National Merit Scholarships are underwritten by about 400 corporations or company foundations. Scholarship finalists have been announced on a staggered basis since fall 2021, when 16,000 high school seniors who scored in the top 1 percent of the PSAT were named semifinalists. In April, about 1,000 corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholars were named, and on June 1 and July 11, 4,000 more college-sponsored scholarship winners will be announced. By the end of 2022, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation estimated that 7,500 scholars will have been awarded a total of about $28 million.