Shaker Heights High Has 17 National Merit Scholarship Finalists

SHAKER HEIGHTS, OH — The prestigious National Merit Scholarship competition announced its finalists for 2022 and 17 seniors at Shaker Heights High School made the cut.

The National Merit Scholarship Program is awarding $30 million in college scholarship to the nation's top-performing students. Scholarship winners will be announced in four separate cycles starting in April and ending in July.

High school students enter the National Merit Scholarship competition when they take the PSAT. The class of semifinalists is composed of students scoring in the top 1-percent of all test-takers.

To become finalists, high school officials and the semifinalist student must submit a detailed scholarship application including information on their academic record, participation in school and community activities, information on how they demonstrate leadership, employment history, and any honors they've received. A high school official must endorse the student, and the student must write an essay about themselves while scoring high on their SAT or ACT.

The 17 National Merit finalist for Shaker Heights are:

• Nichele Abeyesundere,
• Kjell Aspelin,
• Grace Bourdrez,
• Jonathan Brinkley,
• Mia Compton-Engle,
• Jacob Feinleib,
• Caroline Lamb,
• Avery Maytin,
• Tyler Nordstrom,
• Benjamin Rakow,
• River Sadowsky,
• Luca Sakiewicz,
• Benjamin Schattinger,
• Somiya Schirokauer,
• Katerina Steiber,
• Julia Strasburg and
• Eva Xiao.