Rocky Hill Student Named National Merit Scholarship Winner

ROCKY HILL, CT — The National Merit Scholarship Corporation Wednesday announced this year's National Merit $2,500 Scholarship winners, including a Rocky Hill student.

The 2,500 Merit Scholar designees were chosen from a talent pool of more than 15,000 outstanding Finalists in the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program.

Melanie Ballard, of Ricky Hill High School, was among the winners. She said her probable career field is "bioinformatics."

National Merit $2,500 Scholarship winners are the finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies. The number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state's percentage of the nation's graduating high school seniors.

The scholars were selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors, who appraised a substantial amount of information submitted by both the finalists and their high schools, including academic record, difficulty level of subjects studied and grades earned; scores from the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test; contributions and leadership in school and community activities; an essay written by the finalist; and a recommendation written by a high school official.