22 Students Receive National Merit Scholarship Recognition In Chatham

CHATHAM, NJ — Officials at Chatham High School have announced that 22 seniors have been named commended students in the National Merit Scholarship Program for 2025.

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.

"Those being named Commended Students have demonstrated outstanding potential for academic success," a spokesperson for NMSC said. "These 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."

Although they will not compete for National Merit Scholarships in 2025, commended students were among the top 50,000 scorers out of more than 1.6 million students who joined the 2025 competition by taking the 2023 preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Text.

Here is a list of all commended students:

• Farris Ahmad
• Jessica Bao
• Richard Connor
• Dan Cvetkovic
• Alexander Fairbairn
• Peter Fodero
• Jonathan Furst
• Tristan George George
• Dhiren Holland
• Luca Holland
• Vera Iorizzo
• Julia Karp
• Aryan Kumar
• Shreyan Lingapelli
• Andrew Loconte
• Siddharth Matia
• Bani Sond
• Varun Venogopal
• Nathaniel West
• Olive Wu
• Jin Zhang
• Richard Zhang

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

According to the organization, approximately 34,000 commended students are being recognized across the country for their exceptional academic promise.

Although commended students are not eligible for National Merit Scholarships, some may be eligible for other special scholarships offered by corporate and business sponsors, officials said.