Lamorinda Student Wins Corporate-Sponsored National Merit Scholarship

LAMORINDA, CA — An Orinda student received a corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarship award. Scholarships in this group are financed by about 94 corporations, foundations, and business organizations. Finalists are either children of employees, residents of the communities served by the companies, or plan to pursue college majors or careers the companies wish to encourage.

The student is among 830 high school seniors nationally who received scholarships funded by 124 companies. In September, more than 16,000 semifinalists were selected on the basis of their PSAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test scores. To advance to the finalist round, semifinalists needed to have an outstanding academic record, be endorsed or recommended by a high school official, and earn SAT or ACT scores that confirm their qualifying test performance.
The awards range from $1,000 to $10,000 per year, and most are renewable for up to four years at an accredited college or university.

The Lamorinda winner is Logan W. Hagendoorn of Orinda, a senior at Miramonte High School. Hagendoorn expects to study Physics with the National Merit Pfizer Inc. Scholarship.

Meanwhile, winners of the National Merit $2500 Scholarships will be announced May 7, and the winners of college-sponsored Merit Scholarships will be announced June 4 and July 14. By the end of the 2025, more than 6,930 students nationwide will have earned National Merit Scholarships totaling approximately $26 million, according to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.