Phoenix Students Are National Merit Scholarship Winners

PHOENIX, AZ — Phoenix students have been named winners for the 2021 corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarship Program.

The winners were announced on Monday and include approximately 1,000 high-school seniors from across the U.S. According to a press release from the National Merit Scholarship Program, the corporate scholarships are financed by about 140 corporations, company foundations and other business organizations.

The awards are renewable for up to four years of undergraduate study and students get a stipend that's anywhere between $1,000 - $10,000 each year. Some of the awards include a single payment between $2,500-$5,000.

More than 1.5 million students applied for the highly competitive scholarship and the program says that around 7,500 students will go on to win scholarships in 2021 that total $30 million. Winners of the $2,500 scholarships and the college-sponsored scholarships will be announced later this year.

Here are the Phoenix winners for the corporate-sponsored scholarships:

• Ethan Sky Warinner (BASIS Phoenix)
• Charles W. Christ (BASIS Ahwatukee)
• Benjamin K. Ciccarelli (Mountain Pointe High School)
• Denneen Marie B. Macariola (Basis Ahwatukee)
• David M. Mirtich (Pinnacle High School)
• Mia C. Santos (BASIS Peoria)
• Maxim Ronald Strong (Mountain Ridge High School)

A total of 16,000 students were selected as finalists for the scholarships and the final winners are candidates "judged to have the strongest combination of academic skills and achievements, extracurricular accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies."