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Area students named National Merit semifinalists

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Lucas Bishop

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Leona Chen

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Hunter Maher

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Caroline Murphy

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Mahir Parmar

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Alex Sun

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Arjun Suresh

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Lauren Tenney

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Isabella Zhang

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Rishika Somireddy, Preetam Jukalkar, and Varun Shiralkar represented South Fayette as National Merit Scholarship semifinalists.

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Mt. Lebanon had three National Merit Scholarship semifinalists, including Zachary Phelps, Eli Seaman and Felix Yang.

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Bethel Park students recognized as National Merit commended students are, from left, Lucas Hertzel, Bryce Clancy, Henry Gaston and Lupe McElvenny. Clancy and Gaston advanced as semifinalists.

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Courtesy of Peters Township School District

Peters Township High School students who were recognized as commended students by the National Merit Scholarship Program. Top row: George Abbato, Justin Tornatore, Kyle Thomas, Ashley Logan; Middle row: Zennik Bublak, Ethan White, Calvin Falls, Logan Desaw; Front row: Avyakta Sharma, Connor Heinsen, Faith Lepisto, and Faith Fackrell. Tyler Aloise is not pictured.

Several area high school seniors were recently named semifinalists in the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Competition. Upper St. Clair boasted nine students while South Fayette and Mt. Lebanon each had three honorees that scored in the top 1% of all juniors who completed the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) exam last October.

Lucas S. Bishop, Leona Chen, Hunter F. Maher, Caroline E. Murphy, Mahir N. Parmar, Alex H. Sun, Arjun A. Suresh, Lauren M. Tenney and Isabella Zhang represented Upper St. Clair.

“We are incredibly proud of our students for their remarkable achievements,” Dr. Timothy Wagner, Upper St. Clair High School principal, said. “In addition to being named National Semifinalists, these nine students excel in our music program, lead student clubs and actively volunteer throughout our greater community.”

Rishika Somireddy, Preetam Jukalkar, and Varun Shiralkar represent South Fayette High School.

“We are very proud to have such academically gifted students at South Fayette,” said high school Assistant Principal Robert Butts. “Rishika, Preetam, and Varun represent our Lion Learners as curious and critical thinkers, collaborative contributors, compelling communicators, and compassionate and productive leaders.”

From Mt. Lebanon, Zachary Phelps, Eli Seaman and Felix Yang excelled on the exam.

Meanwhile, Bethel Park had four seniors recognized for their academic excellence.

Bryce Clancy, Henry Gaston, Lucas Hertzel, and Lupe McElvenny were recognized as commended students. Clancy and Gaston also were named as semifinalists.

“We are very proud of the students who achieved this national recognition,” said BP principal Joseph Villani. “It is reflective of their hard work and dedication to learning.”

Peters Township High School had 13 students who were recognized as commended students: George Abbato, Tyler Aloise, Zennik Bublak, Logan Desaw, Faith Fackrell, Calvin Falls, Connor Heinsen, Faith Lepisto, Ashley Logan, Avyakta Sharma, Kyle Thomas, Justin Tornatore and Ethan White.

Founded in 1955, the National Merit Scholarship Program is an academic competition for recognition and scholarships. Students enter the program by taking the PSAT – the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test – during the fall of their junior year. The nationwide pool of semifinalists, more than 16,000 students, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. The number of semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.

According to the program’s website, “The National Merit Scholarship Program honors individual students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies.”

During its recent announcement on Sept. 13, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation said, “These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,140 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $28 million that will be offered next spring. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the finalist level of the competition. About 95% of the semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing, and approximately half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.”

Finalists will be named in February, followed by the National Merit Scholars in the spring and summer. The program awards three types of scholarships – 2,500 National Merit Scholarships of $2,500; approximately 840 corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarships; and 3,800 college-sponsored Merit Scholarships.

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