Three 2012 Shaker Heights Graduates Win National Merit Scholarships

Three graduates won college-sponsored National Merit Scholarships this week.

The students are:

• Joshua A. Barnett, who will attend Tulane University

• Benjamin K. Claus, soon to be a freshman at the University of Southern California

• Aleksa J. Kaups, who will stay in Ohio at Denison University

The students join four other National Merit Scholarship winners and one National Achievement Scholarship winner announced earlier this year. In May, Shaker students Terence Conlon, Rachel Jensen, Matthew Krantz, and Claire Lo were named winners of scholarships sponsored by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. Nia Morgan won a National Achievement Scholarship.

Thirty-six Shaker graduates of the Class of 2012 were honored as semifinalists or commended students by one or more of the National Merit, National Achievement, and National Hispanic scholar programs. According to the district, they represent about 10 percent of Shaker’s senior class.