6 Silver Spring Students Awarded $2,500 National Merit Scholarships

SILVER SPRING, MD — Of more than 15,000 student finalists in the National Merit Scholarship's $2,500 competition, 2,500 were selected. Among those students were six who attend high school in Silver Spring.

"National Merit $2500 Scholarship winners are the Finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies," the National Merit Scholarship Corporation said. "The number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the nation’s graduating high school seniors."

Here are the students from Silver Spring high schools who received a scholarship:

• Jihwan Kim, plans to go into academia, attends Montgomery Blair High School
• Natanel W. Ha, plans to study environmental science, attends Montgomery Blair High School
• Hawon Lee, plans to study engineering, attends Montgomery Blair High School
• Lily Ciel L. Behnam, plans to study veterinary medicine, attends Wheaton High School
• Graham M. Ferguson, plans to study genetics, attends James Hubert Blake High School
• Jeffrey W. Tong, plans to study computer programming, attends Montgomery Blair High School

High school juniors are entered into the National Merit contest by taking the PSAT. In September, 16,000 semifinalists were chosen and were asked to complete an application with included an essay and information about leadership and extracurricular activities, submit proof of their academic record, get an endorsement from a school official and earn a top ACT or SAT score.

Winners of the corporate scholarship competition were announced last month, and the National Merit Scholarship Corporation will announce college-sponsored winners in June and July.