2nd Round Of National Merit Scholarships: 38 Students Are Winners

Thirty-eight students from Colorado are winners of the second round of the National Merit Scholarship, which awards $2500 to each recipient.

The first round of corporate-sponsored scholarships were announced April 21 and included 16 students from Colorado.

For each state, the number of winners is proportional to the state’s percentage of the nation’s graduating high school seniors. The program says the winners are the finalists “judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills and potential for success in rigorous college studies.”

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 college-sponsored scholarship will be announced in June and July.

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Here are the Colorado winners of the $2,500 scholarships:

• Grace Y. Zhang, Grandview High School, Aurora
• Jasmine K. Mosberger, Fairview High School, Boulder
• Cailyn C. Smith, Peak to Peak Charter School, Lafayette
• Krupakar Subramaniam, Legacy High School, Broomfield
• Akber T. Shaikh, Cherry Creek High School, Greenwood Village
• Rahul K. Thomas, Cherry Creek High School, Greenwood Village
• Aadi Nashikkar, Colorado Springs School, Colorado Springs
• Lauren E. Shrack, Pine Creek High School, Colorado Springs
• Atharva P. Vispute, Rampart High School, Colorado Springs
• Ava R. Barish, East High School, Denver
• Serena L. Barish, East High School, Denver
• Peter E. Carpenter, Colorado Academy, Denver
• Caelen J. Hilty, George Washington High School, Denver
• Sarah E. Mitchell, Thomas Jefferson High School, Denver
• Catherine O'Halloran, Colorado Academy, Denver
• Carter A. Ottele, Denver School of the Arts, Denver
• Julia M. Rehring, Northfield High School, Denver
• Zachery W. Mund, Centaurus High School, Lafayette
• Natalie M. Amrhein, Rocky Mountain High School, Fort Collins
• Felix W. Yu, Fort Collins High School, Fort Collins
• Zane L. Perry, Lakewood High School, Lakewood
• Nicole Y. Chen, Cherry Creek High School, Greenwood Village
• Amanda T. Gin, Rock Canyon High School, Littleton
• Ella N. Iveslatt, Mountain Vista High School, Highlands Ranch
• Jade M. Franson, D'Evelyn High School, Denver
• Emily S. Amspoker, Kent Denver School, Englewood
• Kathryn J. Modler, Columbine High School, Columbine
• Lauren E. Smith, Homeschool, Littleton
• David D. Gao, Rock Canyon High School, Littleton
• Sarah M. Paschke, Highlands Ranch High School, Highlands Ranch
• Cooper Hanley, Monarch High School, Louisville
• Elizabeth K. Sundheim, Berthoud High School, Berthoud
• Autumn J. Zhou, Thompson Valley High School, Loveland
• Joseph N. Thompson, Coal Ridge High School, New Castle
• Andrew V. Li, Centennial High School, Pueblo
• Isobel J. McGivney, Pueblo East High School, Pueblo
• Kyle Z. Wang, Fairview High School, Boulder
• Norah L. Kellum, Standley Lake High School, Westminster

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.”