Gales Ferry Student Wins National Merit Scholarship

LEDYARD, CT — A Ledyard student is among 1,000 high school seniors nationwide to have won National Merit Scholarships, officials announced Wednesday.

The students announced today are the first group of winners in the 67th annual National Merit Scholarship Program, and they won corporate-sponsored scholarships from around 136 corporations, company foundations and similar business organizations.

Recipients can use the money at any regionally accredited college or university in the country. Most of the scholarships are $1,000 to $10,000 stipends that students can renew annually for up to four years of college, while some are single payments of $2,500 to $5,000.

Alex Martinez-Garcia, a senior at Ledyard High School and a Gales Ferry resident, won the National Merit Pfizer Inc. Scholarship. Martinez-Garcia plans to study neuroscience in college.

Students were entered into the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program when they took the 2020 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Then, in September 2021, semifinalists in each state were designated based on their state's percentage of graduating high school seniors.

To become finalists, the semifinalists must have "outstanding academic records" and high SAT or ACT scores. They wrote essays; provided information about extracurricular activities, awards and leadership positions; and received endorsements from staff at their high schools.

In total, around 7,500 finalists nationwide will receive National Merit Scholarships totaling nearly $28 million, officials said. More winners will be announced next month.