Simsbury HS Senior Earn Major Academic Award

SIMSBURY, CT — The National Merit Scholarship Corp. Wednesday released the names of the first group of winners in the 70th annual National Merit Scholarship Program, including one from Simsbury.

Simsbury High School senior Raymond F. Zhang earned the National Merit Liberty Mutual Scholarship as he seeks a career in medicine.

Approximately 830 high school seniors have won corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarship awards financed by about 124 corporations, company foundations, and other business organizations.

Also included in this category are awards supported by several foundations and individual donors who have established endowments with NMSC.

Scholars were selected from students who advanced to the Finalist level in the National Merit Scholarship competition and met the criteria of their scholarship sponsors.

Corporate sponsors provide National Merit Scholarships for Finalists who are children of their employees, who are residents of communities the company serves, or who plan to pursue college majors or careers the sponsor wishes to encourage.

Most of these awards are renewable for up to four years of undergraduate college study and provide annual stipends that range from $1,000 to $10,000 per year.

Some provide a single payment between $2,500 and $5,000. Recipients can use their awards at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university of their choice.

This is the first announcement of National Merit Scholars in 2025 by the National Merit Scholarship Corp.

For more information on the National Merit Scholarship program, click on this link.