BY MAIRE O’NEILL
maire@losalamosreporter.com

Ten Los Alamos High School seniors have been named National Merit semifinalists. They are: Andrew Collins, Andrew Corliss, Jennie Gao, Cinyoung Huang, Phillip Ionkov, Olivia Koo, Kathryn Osborn, Aaron Philip, Kamaya Ronning and Robert Strauss. They join 81 other New Mexico seniors who will compete for a share of $30 million in National Merit Scholarships.

Approximately 16,000 semifinalists qualified for the 67th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. The LAHS students have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $30 million that will be offered next spring. 

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