5 Students From Arlington Heights Won National Merit Scholarships

EVANSTON, IL — Five students from across Arlington Heights were awarded National Merit Scholarships financed by U.S. colleges and universities, it was announced June 5. Colleges and universities selected scholarship winners from among the 2019 finalists who plan to attend their institution. These awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study.

Sponsor colleges and universities include 95 private and 78 public institutions located in 43 states and the District of Columbia. College-sponsored Merit Scholarship winners are a part of the distinguished group of about 7,600 high school seniors who will receive National Merit Scholarships for college undergraduate study worth over $31 million. And five of those academic champions are from Arlington Heights.

For the 2019 National Merit Scholarship competition, more than 1.6 million juniors in approximately 22,000 high schools took the 2017 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which served as an initial screen of program entrants. Last fall, approximately 16,000 semifinalists were named. They were the highest-scoring program entrants in each state and represented less than one percent of the nation's seniors. Semifinalists then needed to advance to the 'finalist' level of the competition by after submitting a detailed scholarship application, an essay and providing information about extracurricular activities, awards, and leadership positions. They also needed an outstanding academic record, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, and earn SAT® scores that confirmed the qualifying test performance. From the semifinalist group, some 15,000 met requirements for Finalist standing, and about half of the Finalists will be Merit Scholarship winners in 2019.

The Arlington Heights winners are:

Madeline S. Borkowski of Arlington Heights: Borkowski, a Prospect High School student, plans a career in business. Borkowski was awarded a National Merit Indiana University Bloomington Scholarship.

Luke I. Larson of Arlington Heights: Larson, a John Hersey High School student, plans a career in biology. Larson was awarded a National Merit Miami University Scholarship.

Charles H. Saunders of Arlington Heights: Saunders, a John Hersey High School student, plans a career in materials science. Saunders was awarded a National Merit University of Wisconsin - Madison Scholarship.

Mary Stahlman of Arlington Heights: Stahlman, a Prospect High School student, plans a career in medicine. Stahlman was awarded a National Merit University of Alabama Scholarship.

Gabrielle Abrazaldo of Mount Prospect: Abrazaldo, a John Hersey High School student, plans a career in international human rights. Abrazaldo was awarded a National Merit Fordham University Scholarship.

Established in the 1950s, the National Merit Scholarship Program and its corporate and college sponsors seek to "enhance educational opportunities for America's scholastically talented youth and to encourage the pursuit of academic excellence."