2 Charlotte Graduates Receive National Merit Scholarships

NORTH CAROLINA — Two Charlotte-area high school students have received college sponsored National Merit Scholarships, according to the scholarship organization.

Lewis Benston and Ethan Gandara both were announced as recipients Monday morning by the National Merit Scholarship Corp.

Benston, who attended East Mecklenbug High School, received a scholarship from University of South Carolina, where his probable field of study will be economics.

Gandara, who attended Ardrey Kell High School, received a scholarship from the University of Southern California, where his probable field of study will be international business.

School officials selected them from among the finalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program. These awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship.

In addition to the Charlotte students, 11 other North Carolina gradates received National Merit Scholarships:

• Riley Fowler, Watauga High School, Boone, North Carolina
• Pranesh Macha, Panther Creek High School, Cary, North Carolina
• Addison Morse, Green Hope High School, Cary, North Carolina
• Michael Peeler, Raleigh Charter High School, Raleigh, North Carolina
• Jonathan Crabill, Chapel Hill High School, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
• Vikram Agrawal, Durham Academy Upper School, Durham, North Carolina
• David Li, Topsail High School, Topsail, North Carolina
• Jacob Parker, Monroe High School, Monroe, North Carolina
• Robert Pilson, Raleigh Charter High School, Raleigh, North Carolina
• Zichun Xiao, Ravescroft School, Raleigh, North Carolina
• Emory Wilson, R.J. Reynolds High School, Winston-Salem, North Carolina

The 13 North Carolina graduates are among a final group of more than 650 winners, bringing the number of 2020 National Merit Scholars to about 7,600. These high school graduates will receive scholarships for undergraduate study worth a total of more than $30 million.

In addition to college-sponsored awards, two other types of National Merit Scholarships were offered — 2,500 National Merit $2500 Scholarships, for which all finalists competed, and more than 1,000 corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards for finalists who met criteria specified by their grantor organizations.

Jim Masara, Patch Staff, contributed.