Ten WCPSS Students Earn National Merit College Scholarships
May 28, 2009 - Ten Wake County Public School System seniors earned college-sponsored National Merit Scholarships, according to information released today by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.The 10 students include Lilly Y. Liu, Michael I. Chen, Christopher Kao, Rachel E.H Mazzara, Gabriel D. Reynolds, Alexandra H. Snedeker, Laura C. Buff, Margaret K. Pennisi, Sara N. Lineberry and James D. Longley.
Liu of Enloe High earned a National Merit Northwestern University Scholarship and is interested in medicine.
Chen of Enloe High earned a National Merit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Scholarship and is interested in medicine.
Kao of Southeast Raleigh High earned a National Merit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Scholarship and is interested in biochemistry.
Mazzara of Enloe High earned a National Merit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Scholarship and is interested in secondary education.
Reynolds of Green Hope High earned a National Merit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Scholarship and is interested in journalism/communications.
Snedeker of Enloe High earned a National Merit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Scholarship and is interested in environmental science.
Buff of Enloe High earned a National Merit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Scholarship and is interested in music.
Pennisi of Sanderson High earned a National Merit University of South Carolina Scholarship and is interested in international business.
Lineberry of Enloe High earned a National Merit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Scholarship and is interested in psychology.
Longley of Panther Creek High earned a National Merit Georgia Institute of Technology Scholarship.
The ten students are among more than 2,800 winners of National Merit Scholarships financed by colleges and universities announced by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. Officials of each sponsor college selected their scholarship winners from among Finalists in the 2009 National Merit Scholarship Program who plan to attend their institution. The awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship.
More than 1.5 million juniors in over 22,000 high schools entered the 2009 National Merit Scholarship competition when they took the 2007 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which served as an initial screen of program entrants. Last fall, some 16,000 Semifinalists were named on a state representational basis, in number proportional to each state’s percentage of the nation’s high school graduating seniors. Semifinalists were the highest scoring program entrants in each state and represented less than one percent of a state’s seniors.
To compete for Merit Scholarship awards, Semifinalists had to advance to the Finalists level of the competition by submitting a substantial amount of information and by fulfilling additional requirements. Each Finalist presented an outstanding academic record; was endorsed and recommended by a school official; earned SAT scores that confirmed the qualifying test performance; and provided an essay describing activities, interests and goals. More than 15,000 Semifinalists met requirements for Finalist standing, and more than half of this group will be Merit Scholarship winners in 2009.
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