Milwaukee Area Students Named National Merit Scholarship Winners

MILWAUKEE, WI — Several high school students from around the greater Milwaukee area were named winners of a $2,500 National Merit Scholarship, the corporation announced Wednesday.

The students from Wisconsin are among 2,500 nationwide who were selected from a larger pool of 15,000 finalists in the 2023 National Merit Scholarship Program, according to a news release from the company. Judges selected the winners by evaluating accomplishments, skills, and the potential for success in rigorous college studies. The number of winners in each state is proportional to its national share of high school graduating seniors, the scholarship corporation said.

Wednesday's scholarship announcement is the second from 2023. Another round of winners is set to be announced in June. Over 7,100 students across the nation will be named scholarship winners in 2023, the NMSC said. The students who won the scholarships will be able to use them at any accredited U.S. college or university, according to the news release.

Students were entered into the competition when high school juniors took the PSAT/NMSQT test, with the highest scorers moving on to become a semi-finalist, the news release said.

Here are the winners from the greater Milwaukee area:

• Jacob Alejandro, Brookfield, Probable career field: Computer Science, Wisconsin Lutheran High School in Milwaukee.
• Jack K. Debbaruah, Brookfield, Probable career field: Law, Marquette University High School in Milwaukee.
• Om Rajpal, Brookfield, Probable career field: Computer Science, Brookfield Central High School.
• Charles J. O'Connor, Delafield, Probable career field: Medicine, Marquette University High School in Milwaukee.
• Ella R. Hanizeski, Greendale, Probable career field: Nursing, Greendale High School.
• Ellie Lin, Menomonee Falls, Probable career field: Medicine, University School of Milwaukee.
• Brooke E. Stanley, Menomonee Falls, Probable career field: Biological Engineering, Hamilton High School in Sussex.
• Oluwatomisin Adesanya, Milwaukee, Probable career field: Science/Research, Dominican High School in Whitefish Bay.
• Grace R. Fan, New Berlin, Probable career field: Statistics, Eisenhower High School in New Berlin.
• Pratyush Shahir, New Berlin, Probable career field: Biotechnology, Eisenhower High School in New Berlin.
• Alexis Y. Hu, Shorewood, Probable career field: Business, Shorewood High School.