Hudson Valley Boasts 32 National Merit Scholarship 2022 Winners So Far

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — The 67th annual National Merit Scholarship Program continues to announce the names of this year's winners, and in the first three rounds, 32 have been named from the region's high schools.

On Wednesday, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced the first of two sets of winners of National Merit Scholarships financed by U.S. colleges and universities. These awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship. The second set will be announced in July.

Local winners in the first set:

• Anay Mody, Ardsley High School. Probable career field: Computer Science
• Amy Chen of Poughkeepsie, Arlington High School. Probable career field: Computer Science
• Henry James Hoffman Robb of Pound Ridge, St. Luke's School. Probable career field: Computer Science
• Kaitlyn M. Chen, Sleepy Hollow High School. Probable career field: Mathematics.
• Olivia N. Addeo of Thornwood. Byram Hills High School. Probable career field: Biochemistry
• Justin J. Tullo of Wappingers Falls. Roy C. Ketcham High School. Probable career field: Physics
• Laura C. Cook, Warwick Valley High School. Probable career field: Mathematics
• Timothy H. de Ganon of Yonkers, Fordham Preparatory School. Probable career field: Computer Science

In April, the organization announced the names of about 1,000 distinguished high school seniors who won corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarship awards financed by about 136 corporations, company foundations, and other business organizations. From the Hudson Valley:

• Henry S. Douglass, Mamaroneck High School, from the PwC Charitable Foundation, Inc., which invests in emerging solutions to society's greatest challenges in education and humanitarianism.
• Raghav V. Joshi, Blind Brook High School, from the PepsiCo Foundation, the philanthropic anchor of PepsiCo. The Foundation is committed to developing sustainable partnerships and programs in underserved regions that provide opportunities for improved health, environment and education.
• Gabriel H. Dong, Clarkstown High School South, from Pfizer Inc., whose approximately 90,000 employees produce and market pharmaceuticals, agricultural products, hospital products, and consumer products. These Merit Scholarship awards are provided by Pfizer Inc to the children of employees.

In May, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced the National Merit $2500 Scholarship winners. 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 number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the nation’s graduating high school seniors. Local winners:

• Anisha Kumar of Ardsley, Ardsley High School. Probable career field: Medicine
• Mark E. Takken of Brewster, North Salem High School. Probable career field: Applied Mathematics
• Molly D. Reinmann of Chappaqua, Hackley School. Probable career field: Journalism
• Benjamin E. Fried, Dobbs Ferry High School. Probable career field: Economics
• Neel N. Raut of Elmsford. Briarcliff High School. Probable career field: Computer Science
• Thomas C. DeGirolami of Harrison. Hackley School. Probable career field: Academia
• Joyce Q. Lu of Hastings. Ardsley High School. Probable career field: Computer Science
• Angela C. Ye or LaGrangeville, Arlington High School. Probable career field: Biology
• Riley J. Vavolizza, Pleasantville High School. Probable career field: Mathematics
• Jessica Park of Rye. Rye Neck High School. Probable career field: Conservation
• Samantha E. Richter of Scarsdale. Edgemont High School. Probable career field: Political Science
• Ivan Sinyavin, Scarsdale High School. Probable career field: International Relations
• Henry C. Zhang, Scarsdale High School. Probable career field: Economics
• Eliana D. Zitrin, Scarsdale High School. Probable career field: Biochemical Engineering
• Ryan C. Lyppens, Sleepy Hollow High School. Probable career field: Biomedical Engineering
• Henry Huang of Tappan. Tappan Zee High School. Probable career field: Computer Science
• Quinn W. Connor of Valley Cottage. Nyack High School. Probable career field: Computer Science
• Arden Hallett, Warwick Valley High School. Probable career field: Actuarial Science
• Devan J. Shah of West Nyack. Clarkstown High School South. Probable career field: Mathematics
• Noam E. Bellin-Schonfeld of White Plains. Bi-Cultural Hebrew Academy of Connecticut. Probable career field: Law
• David G. Rae of Yorktown. Montfort Academy. Probable career field: Academia

Nationally, there were more than 15,000 outstanding finalists in the 2022 program, officials for the National Merit Scholarship Corporation said.

High school juniors entered the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program when they took the 2020 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. In September 2021, more than 16,000 Semifinalists were designated on a state-representational basis in numbers proportional to each state’s percentage of the national total of graduating high school seniors. Semifinalists were the highest-scoring program entrants in each state and represented less than 1 percent of the nation’s seniors.

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.

By the conclusion of the 2022 competition, about 7,500 Finalists will have been selected to receive National Merit Scholarships totaling nearly $28 million. Winners are the Finalist candidates judged to have the strongest combination of academic skills and achievements, extracurricular accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies.

NMSC, a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance, was established in 1955 to conduct the National Merit Scholarship Program. The majority of National Merit Scholarships offered each year are underwritten by some 400 independent corporate and college sponsors that support NMSC’s efforts to honor the nation’s scholastically talented youth and encourage academic excellence at all levels of education.