12 Students At Lake Forest Schools Named National Merit Semifinalists

LAKE FOREST, IL — A dozen students at high schools in Lake Forest were named semifinalists for 2024 National Merit Scholarships. They include six from Lake Forest High School, five from Lake Forest Academy and one from Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart, according to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

The 12 local scholars were among the more than 16,000 high school students who qualified from across the country based on the results of Preliminary SAT tests that they took last year, with the number of semifinalist slots in a state determined by its share of the nation's sum of graduating seniors.

This year's semifinalists from area high schools are:

• Charles M. Baksht, Lake Forest High School
• Lucas D. Feltzin, Lake Forest Academy
• Theresa Fu, Lake Forest Academy
• Henry T. Gold, Lake Forest Academy
• Ashwin Joshi, Lake Forest High School
• Connor S. Koefelda, Lake Forest High School
• Gianna Keuer, Woodlands Academy
• Tobjorn L. Nelson, Lake Forest Academy
• Austin P. Okada, Lake Forest High School
• James D. Pruett, Lake Forest Academy
• Alexa L. Richer, Lake Forest High School
• Sadie L. Strong, Lake Forest High School

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation is an Evanston-based not-for-profit that distributes three types of scholarships every spring, totaling nearly $28 million for more than 7,100 students,

About 840 students will receive corporate-sponsored awards, which are mostly reserved for the children of people who work for one of about 160 different businesses.

Another 2,500 students will receive $2,500 cash each, to be evenly distributed among different states.

And the largest group of winners is made of up finalists picked to receive 3,800 scholarships of between $500 and $2,000 a year for up to four year of undergraduate study. About 160 different colleges and universities finance the awards.

In order for semifinalists to qualify as a finalist and become eligible for scholarships, they must submit a detailed application, including an essay and recommendation from a high school official.

Last year, fourteen students from local high schools — seven from LFA, six from LFHS and one from Woodlands Academy — were named semifinalists.