2 Shrewsbury High School Seniors Win National Merit Scholarships

SHREWSBURY, MA — A committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors selected two Shrewsbury residents for National Merit cash scholarships.

Janet Jiaxin Lio, of the class of 2023 at Palm Harbor University High School in Florida, and James Kasawri, of the class of 2023 at St. John's High School, are among 2,500 winners of $2,500 scholarships from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

Jiaxin Liu plans to study economics. Kasawri plans to study medicine, according to National Merit.

The two were selected from a pool of more than 15,000 finalists.

The scholarships are awarded to National Merit finalists found to have the "strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies," according to a release.

The cash scholarships are the second of four rounds of annual scholarship winner announcements by National Merit.

The winners were chosen by a committee that evaluated each candidate's academic record, scores on Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Tests, leadership contributions, an essay written by finalists, and a recommendation from a high school official.