30 Hudson Valley Seniors Win 2023 National Merit Scholarships

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — Thirty students from the Hudson Valley have been named winners of the 2023 National Merit $2,500 Scholarship. The merit scholar winners, announced Wednesday, were among 2,500 winners nationwide and were selected from a pool of more than 15,000 finalists.

Wednesday’s announcement is the second group of winners this year. In April, about 840 recipients of the corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship were named.

A panel of college admissions officers and high school counselors judged the students based on their accomplishments, skills and potential for success in rigorous college courses, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation said in a release. The judges looked at academic achievement, the difficulty of courses, standardized test scores, contributions and leadership — both in school and in the community — as well as an essay and a recommendation from a high school official.

The number of winners in each state was proportional to the state’s share of the nation’s graduating high school seniors. Additional winners will be named in June and July. By the end of the year, more than 7,100 students will have won merit scholarships totaling more than $28 million. The money can be put toward any regionally accredited college or university in America.

Here are the winners from the Hudson Valley:

Sarina W. Kulsakdinun, Armonk

• Greenwich Academy
• Probable career field: Public policy, education reform

Remi P. Matza, Bedford

• Byram Hills High School
• Probable career field: Healthcare

Tevin Kim, Briarcliff Manor

• Briarcliff High School
• Probable career field: Computer science

Jeremy C. Freeman, Bronxville

• Bronxville High School
• Probable career field: Medicine

Carly D. Googel, Chappaqua

• Horace Greeley High School
• Probable career field: Entrepreneurship

Rohan Malik, Chappaqua

• Rye Country Day School
• Probable career field: Science/research

Gabriel Paley, Chappaqua

• Horace Greeley High School
• Probable career field: Stockbrokerage

Karina E. Liba, Cornwall

• Cornwall Central High School
• Probable Career field: Computer science

Sabbia Gale-Donnelly, Crompond

• Walter Panas High School
• Probably career field: Law

Alexandra M. Schaffer, Croton-on-Hudson

• Hendrick Hudson High School
• Probable career field: Environmental science

Zhuoyi Zou, Eastchester

• Eastchester High School
• Probable career field: Biomedical engineering

William Mahoney, Larchmont

• Rye Country Day School
• Probable career field: Academia

Lea Duesterwald, Millwood

• Horace Greeley High School
• Probable career field: Computer science

Siri M. Reddy, Mount Kisco

• Horace Greeley High School
• Probable career field: Computer science

Justin Xiang, Mount Kisco

• Horace Greeley High School
• Probable career field: Computer science

Magnolia A. Garbarino, Pawling

• Pawling High School
• Probable career field: Medicine

Daniel W. Choi, Pleasantville

• Riverdale Country School
• Probable career field: Medicine

Kelsey A. Vaquero, Pleasantville

• Byram Hills High School
• Probable career field: Marketing

Jeet Shahani, Poughkeepsie

• Spackenkill High School
• Probable career field: Biomedical engineering

Ariella M. Blackman, Purchase

• Harrison High School
• Probable career field: Aerospace engineering

Cindy Y. DeDianous, Scarsdale

• Scarsdale High School
• Probable career field: Neuroscience

Carly S. Gelles, Scarsdale

• Scarsdale High School
• Probable career field: Linguistics

Aarya J. Kumar, Scarsdale

• Edgemont High School
• Probable career field: Mathematics

Olivia Liu, Scarsdale

• Scarsdale High School
• Probable career field: Environmental science

Benjamin S. Persily, Scarsdale

• King School
• Probable career field: Biology

Rajan S. Sandhu, Scarsdale

• Edgemont High School
• Probable career field: Engineering

Olivia M. Lucal, Verbank

• Millbrook High School
• Probable career field: Astrophysics

Milo Kris, White Plains

• White Plains High School
• Probable career field: Science/research

Vinn Nguyen, White Plains

• White Plains High School
• Probable career field: Environmental engineering

Daniel Sheinin, Yorktown Heights

• Yorktown High School
• Probable career field: Computer science