Twenty-Six Students Named Winners of 2019 College-Sponsored Merit Scholarships

Twenty-six Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) students from 12 high schools have been named winners of 2019 Merit Scholarship awards by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC). The students are part of a group of more than 3,500 National Merit® finalists chosen to receive scholarships financed by higher education institutions.

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

• Justin Wang of Chantilly High School (electrical engineering), National Merit University of Maryland Scholarship.
• Joshua Nielsen of Herndon High School (mechanical engineering), National Merit Brigham Young University Scholarship.
• Samuel Grable of Lake Braddock Secondary School (finance), National Merit TCU Scholarship.
• John Beckner of Langley High School (undecided), National Merit Northwestern University Scholarship.
• Samuel Cohen of Madison High School (aerospace engineering), National Merit Purdue University Scholarship.
• Sarah Conforti of Madison High School (engineering), National Merit Purdue University Scholarship.
• Elizabeth Press of Madison High School (economics), National Merit University of Chicago Scholarship.
• Helen Ganley of McLean High School (mechanical engineering), National Merit Boston University Scholarship.
• Maren Kranking of McLean High School (graphic design), National Merit Northwestern University Scholarship.
• Kristen Waagner of McLean High School (theater), National Merit Northwestern University Scholarship.
• Emily Fang of Oakton High School (computer science), National Merit University of Southern California Scholarship.
• Jonathan Guo of Oakton High School (undecided), National Merit University of Chicago Scholarship.
• Joseph Tirre of Robinson Secondary School (engineering), National Merit Virginia Commonwealth University Scholarship.
• Zachary Wilson of South County High School (video game design), National Merit Rochester Institute of Technology Scholarship.
• Arabella Jariel of South Lakes High School (computer science), National Merit Harvey Mudd College Scholarship.
• Prabhat Adusumalli of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) (medicine), National Merit Virginia Commonwealth University Scholarship.
• Matthew Chen of TJHSST (molecular biology), National Merit University of Chicago Scholarship.
• Walker Haynes of TJHSST (undecided), National Merit University of Chicago Scholarship.
• Anica Huang of TJHSST (biomedical engineering), National Merit Virginia Commonwealth University Scholarship.
• Jocelyn Liu of TJHSST (electrical engineering), National Merit University of Southern California Scholarship.
• Nandhana Nair of TJHSST (international business), National Merit Fordham University Scholarship.
• Madeline Old of TJHSST (marine biology), National Merit Grinnell College Scholarship.
• Nidhi Talasani of TJHSST (medicine), National Merit University of Chicago Scholarship.
• Anna Thamasett of TJHSST (molecular biology), National Merit University of South Carolina Scholarship.
• Emily Xiong of TJHSST (computer science), National Merit University of Chicago Scholarship.
• Daniel Braun of Woodson High School (psychology), National Merit University of Alabama Scholarship.

Each scholarship winner was evaluated on his or her 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.

The final group of NMSC scholarship recipients from the class of 2019 will be named in July.

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Note: For more information, contact the FCPS Office of Communication and Community Relations at 571-423-1200.