10 FCPS Students Named 2024 National Merit College-Sponsored Scholarship Winners

Ten Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) students from three high schools have been named winners of 2024 Merit Scholarship awards by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC). The students are part of a group of more than 800 National Merit® Finalists chosen to receive additional scholarships financed by higher education institutions. They join the original group of 2,900 college-sponsored award recipients announced in June. 

Winners of the scholarships, with their probable career fields in parentheses, are:

• Shashank Vardhan Cheruvu of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) (computer science), National Merit University of Maryland Scholarship.
• Pranav K. Vadde of TJHSST (aerospace engineering), National Merit Purdue University Scholarship.
• Srishanth Tangedipalli of TJHSST (medicine), National Merit Case Western Reserve University Scholarship.
• Joshua Y. Kwon of Chantilly High School (computer science), National Merit University of Maryland Scholarship. 
• Shira D. Gottesman of TJHSST (biology), National Merit Brandeis University Scholarship. 
• Hardeep S. Mann of TJHSST (cardiology), National Merit Virginia Commonwealth University Scholarship.
• Pranav A. Panicker of TJHSST (computer science), National Merit University of Maryland Scholarship.
• Milan T. Nguyen of McLean High School (international relations), National Merit Northeastern University Scholarship.
• Alexandra Toporowicz of TJHSST (medicine), National Merit Virginia Commonwealth University Scholarship. 
• Karthik Thyagarajan of TJHSST (computer science), National Merit Purdue University Scholarship.

Each scholarship winner was evaluated on their academic record; an essay and information about extracurricular activities, awards, and leadership positions; SAT scores that confirmed outstanding test performance; and a recommendation and endorsement from a high school official. Each award provides between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the recipient’s scholarship.

This final group of winners brings the number of 2024 National Merit Scholars to more than 6,900. These distinguished high school graduates will receive scholarships that total nearly $26 million. In addition to college-sponsored awards, two other types of National Merit Scholarships were offered — 2,500 National Merit $2,500 Scholarships, for which all finalists competed; and about 770 corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards for finalists who met criteria specified by their grantor organizations.