9 Howard County Students Awarded $2,500 National Merit Scholarships

COLUMBIA, MD — Another round of National Merit scholarship winners has been announced. The 2,500 Merit Scholar designees were chosen from among more than 15,000 finalists in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program for $2,500 scholarships.

The scholars were chosen by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors, who reviewed information submitted by the finalists and their high schools including their academic record, including 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.

This is the second announcement of winners in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program. Last month, 830 recipients of corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards were named, and on June 4 and July 14, some 3,600 college-sponsored Merit Scholarship winners will be announced. By the end of this year’s competition, more than 6,930 academic champions will have won National Merit Scholarships worth approximately $26 million.

Below are area students who are part of the latest round of scholarship winners:

Thomas K. Li, River Hill High School
Probable career field: Computer Science

Ethan H. Shaw, Marriotts Ridge High School
Probable career field: Economics

James T. Shidle, Wilde Lake High School
Probable career field: Engineering

Esther A. Sung, Mount Hebron High School
Probable career field: Medicine

Siyeon Yu, Marriotts Ridge High School
Probable career field: Neurosurgery

Cindy Zhan, Centennial High School
Probable career field: Neuroscience

Nathalie Alexander, homeschool, Fulton
Probable career field: Medical Research

Kelly D. Liu, Marriotts Ridge High School
Probable career field: Computer Science

Andrew J. Zhang, Marriotts Ridge High School
Probable career field: Psychiatry