22 New Trier Area Students Named National Merit Semifinalists

WILMETTE, IL — Twenty-two seniors from high schools in Wilmette and Winnetka were named semifinalists for 2023 National Merit Scholarships. They include 19 students from New Trier High School, two from Loyola Academy and one from North Shore Country Day School, according to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

The nearly two dozen local students are among more than 16,000 who qualified nationwide based on the results of their scores on last year's Preliminary SAT test. The number of semifinalists in each state is proportional to its share of the nation's total number of graduating seniors.

Representatives of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced the following members of the class of 2023 at local high schools have been named semifinalists:

• Kannan J. Alford, New Trier High School
• Gilgamesh Auh, New Trier High School
• Neil Behl, North Shore Country Day School
• Charlotte E. Calkins, New Trier High School
• Harrison A. Citow, New Trier High School
• Iman H. Dajani, New Trier High School
• Emilia V. Dobek, New Trier High School
• Benjamin W. Griesmeyer, Loyola Academy
• Arnav Goyal, New Trier High School
• Savannah X. Hsu, New Trier High School
• Bernadette Kaup, New Trier High School
• Erin K. Lee, New Trier High School
• Annabel Ma, New Trier High School
• Chloe C. Molins, Loyola Academy
• Colin D. O'Donnell, New Trier High School
• Madeline J. Oh, New Trier High School
• Akiva G. Sherin, New Trier High School
• Sofie Nam Van Til, New Trier High School
• Annie K. von Dohlen, New Trier High School
• Tyler Wang, New Trier High School
• Jeremy A. Worth, New Trier High School
• John A. Worth, New Trier High School

The Evanston-based nonprofit that sponsors the program distributes three types of scholarships every spring:

• 2,500 cash scholarships from its own funds worth $2,500 each
• about 950 corporate-sponsored awards mostly reserved for the children of various businesses
• about 3,800 college-sponsored scholarships that cover between $500 and $2,000 a year for up to four years of undergraduate study for students set to attend those institution.

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, 30 students at New Trier Township high schools — 21 from the public high school, three from North Shore Country Day and six from Loyola — qualified as semifinalists. Eleven of them were awarded scholarships earlier this year.

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