20 Students Receive National Merit Scholarship Recognition In Chatham

CHATHAM, NJ — Doug Walker, principal of Chatham High School, announced that 20 seniors have been named commended students in the National Merit Scholarship Program for 2024.

Walker and the high school presented these high-achieving seniors with a letter of commendation from the school and the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, which runs the program.

"We are very proud of the students who achieved this national recognition. It is reflective of their hard work and dedication to learning. We look forward to following their continued growth and contribution to our society," Walker said.

Although they will not compete for National Merit Scholarships in 2024, commended students were among the top 50,000 scorers out of more than 1.6 million students who joined the 2024 competition by taking the 2022 preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Text.

The commended students from Chatham High School are as follows:

• Ellie Bacon
• Alison Barton
• Aiden Bernstein
• Alexander Coutras
• Henry Davenport
• Thomas Hung
• Manav Joshi
• Katherine Krieg
• Sophia Melgarejo
• Anjali Phadnis
• Jessica Poillucci
• Cole Polemeni
• Manaal Qureshi
• Elliot Ryu
• Simon Stryszak
• Daniel Tam
• Joseph Yang
• Natalie Yen
• Clairie Zhao
• Claire Zhu

“Those being named commended students have demonstrated outstanding potential for academic success,” a spokesperson for NMSC said. “The students represent a valuable national resource; recognizing their accomplishments, as well as the key role their schools play in their academic development, is vital to the advancement of educational excellence in our nation. We hope that this recognition will help broaden their educational opportunities and encourage them as they continue their pursuit of academic success.”

According to the organization, approximately 34,000 commended students are being recognized across the country for their exceptional academic promise. Although commended students will not be eligible for National Merit Scholarships, some may be eligible for special scholarships offered by corporate and business sponsors.