Massachusetts Students Named National Merit Scholarship Winners

MASSACHUSETTS — The National Merit Scholarship Corporation released the names of the first group of winners in the 67th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.

NMSC will name recipients of National Merit $2500 Scholarships on May 11, and winners of college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards on June 1 and July 11. By the conclusion of this year's competition, about 7,500 students will have won National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $30 million.

High school juniors entered the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which served as an initial screen of entrants. Less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors make the cut, and to become a finalist, students must submit a detailed application.

Most of these awards are renewable for up to four years of college undergraduate study
and provide annual stipends that range from $1,000 to $10,000 per year. Some provide a single
payment between $2,500 and $5,000. Recipients can use their awards at any regionally accredited
U.S. college or university of their choice.

To be considered for a National Merit Scholarship, Semifinalists had to fulfill requirements
to advance to Finalist standing. Each Semifinalist was asked to complete a detailed scholarship
application, which included writing an essay and providing information about extracurricular
activities, awards, and leadership positions. Semifinalists also had to have an outstanding
academic record, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, and earn SAT or
ACT scores that confirmed their qualifying test performance. From the Semifinalist group, over
15,000 met Finalist requirements.

Here are the winners from Massachusetts:

• ACTON: Cynthia Jin, Concord Academy, Concord. National Merit Novartis Scholarship. Probable career field: Art History.
• ACTON: Aparna Kamath, Acton-Boxborough Regional H.S., Acton. National Merit Bentley Systems Scholarship. Probable career field: Biomedical Engineering.
• ACTON: Neha Saravanan, Acton-Boxborough Regional H.S., Acton. National Merit Novartis Scholarship. Probable career field: Medicine.
• ACUSHNET: Mason T. Forcier, Fairhaven H.S., Fairhaven. National Merit Eversource Energy Scholarship. Probable career field: Aerospace Engineering.
• ANDOVER: Jade P. Nair, Andover H.S., Andover. National Merit Marsh McLennan Scholarship. Probable career field: Computer Science.
• BELMONT: Katherine E. Arkin, Belmont H.S., Belmont. National Merit Pfizer Inc. Scholarship. Probable career field: Applied Mathematics.
• BELMONT: Aditya Jain, Belmont H.S., Belmont. National Merit Novartis Scholarship. Probable career field: Environmental Policy.
• BOSTON: Teresa Lepeska, Boston Latin School, Boston. National Merit Viasat Scholarship. Probable career field: Biology.
• BOSTON: Augustine Nguyen, Boston Latin School, Boston. National Merit Walgreen Co. Scholarship. Probable career field: Computer Engineering.
• BOSTON: Rachel D. Roncka, Boston Latin School, Boston. National Merit Liberty Mutual Scholarship. Probable career field: Law.
• BOXBOROUGH: Dalton C. Luce, Boxborough Regional H.S., Boxborough. National Merit Raytheon Scholarship. Probable career field: Computer Science.
• CAMBRIDGE: Felix S. Prasanna, Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, Cambridge. National Merit Insperity Scholarship. Probable career field: Computer Science.
• FRAMINGHAM: Arnav D. Signh, Framingham H.S., Framingham. National Merit Abbvie Inc. Scholarship. Probable career field: Economics.
• FRANKLIN: Nipun Goel, Franklin H.S., Franklin. National Merit Putnam Investments Scholarship. Probable career field: Finance.
• HOPKINTON: Sarah M. Bouvier, Hopkinton H.S., Hopkinton. National Merit Aon Scholarship. Probable career field: Actuarial Science.
• JAMAICA PLAIN: Esli L. Rosenthal, Boston Latin School, Boston. National Merit Viasat Scholarship. Probable career field: Writing.
• LEXINGTON: Rajendro N. Dutta, Lexington H.S., Lexington. National Merit Raytheon Scholarship. Probable career field: Science/Research.
• LEXINGTON: Sarah F. Liu, Lexington H.S., Lexington. National Merit Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Scholarship. Probable career field: Undecided.
• MARBLEHEAD: Timothy J. Clay, Marblehead H.S., Marblehead. National Merit Calmer L. Johnson/John W. Leslie ITW Scholarship. Probable career field: Statistics.
• NEEDHAM HEIGHTS: Vijay B. Fisch, Needham H.S., Needham. National Merit Pfizer Inc. Scholarship. Probable career field: Activism.
• NEWTON: Steven R. Gao, Newton North H.S., Newtonville. National Merit Marsh McLennan Scholarship. Probable career field: Computer Science.
• NEWTON: William S. McNally, Newton North H.S., Newtonville. National Merit Aon Scholarship. Probable career field: Engineering.
• SHARON: Deyan Kassev, Sharon H.S., Sharon. National Merit Liberty Mutual Scholarship. Probable career field: Finance.
• WELLESLEY: Andrew J. Ng, Wellesley H.S., Wellesley. National Merit Raytheon Scholarship. Probable career field: Biology.
• WESTFORD: Tejas U. Kudva, Westford Academy, Westford. National Merit Aspen Technology, Inc. Scholarship. Probable career field: Medicine.
• WESTFORD: Aaditi Padhi, Westford Academy, Westford. National Merit - The PWC Charitable Foundation Scholarship. Probable career field: Computer Science.
• WINCHESTER: Roxana C. Arnet, Winchester H.S., Winchester. National Merit LPL Financial Scholarship. Probable career field: Biomedical Engineering.
• WINCHESTER: Noah D. Kim, Winchester H.S., Winchester. National Merit Raytheon Scholarship. Probable career field: Undecided.