The National Merit® Scholarship Program has announced the 2023-24 semifinalists and 27 Spring Branch ISD students made the list.
“We congratulate our students and their teachers on this tremendous accomplishment. Our students continually persist through rigorous coursework which leads to their exceptional academic records preparing them for a wide array of post-secondary options.” said Dr. Kristin Craft, Associate Superintendent for Academics. “Our students accept challenges and excel on the national scene.”
The National Merit® Scholarship Program, conducted by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, is an annual academic competition for recognition and college undergraduate scholarships. Since 1955, they have awarded more than 450,000 scholarships to over 3.4 million students.
Scholarship winners are chosen based on their abilities, skills, and accomplishments as well as their Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®) results. Semifinalists now have the opportunity to continue the competition to receive a scholarship. To become a finalist, students must submit a detailed scholarship application demonstrating their academic and leadership abilities.
This year's semifinalists are from Memorial High School, Stratford High School, Spring Branch Academic Institute (SBAI) and Westchester Academy for International Studies. These students now have an opportunity to qualify for National Merit® Finalist awards, which will be announced in February 2024.
2023-24 National Merit® Scholarship Semifinalists include:
Memorial High School
Vihal Arumalla
Jenna Chuan
Alina Du
Jason Fan
Weijen Kuo
Casey La
Jennifer Le
Joshua Lee
Sven Liu
Daniel Ma
Zachary Mok
Theodore Mucher
Bennett Pearson
Audrey Pham
Urvi Ramesh
Shepherd Scimemi
William Streett
Ivan Ting
Joshua Tolentino
Stratford High School
Benjamin Bednar
Tatum Marye
Tyler Moon
Spring Branch Academic Institute (SBAI)
Yousif Al-Jadir
Amelia Bommer
Park Dalton
Westchester Academy for International Studies
Isaac Knott
Zachary Rosca-Halmagean
SBISD students are also represented in the College Board National Recognition Programs, which award academic honors to underrepresented students and connect them with universities across the country.
Students with a 3.5 GPA or higher, who identify as African American or Black, Hispanic American or Latino, or Indigenous, take the PSAT/NMSQT® in October of their junior year and achieve the minimum requested scores, are invited to apply for the national recognition.
Congratulations to these students for the following recognitions!
National Hispanic Recognition Recipients:
Memorial High School
Alexa Villegas
Ana Paulina MunozLedo
Andrea Ibarra
Carolina Factor
Carolina Monsch
Catherine Deboben
Diego Carrasco-Torres
Dylan Villasmil
Eugenia Rincon
Gabriel Vasquez
Guillermo Schoenhofer
Jesse Lane
Josua Tolentino
Katherine Lowy
Luis Balbuena
Manuela Nakashima Borges de Oliveira
Mariana Flores
Mauricio Khalaf
Nicholas Enriquez
Nicholas Rogalski
Rohan Mireles
Samuel Sepulveda
Samuel Hail
Sara Buheis
Sarai San Lucas
Shriya Malhotra
Sienna Monsch
Vivian Jones
William Lyle
Cydney Lopez
Northbrook High School
Alexandra Romero
Brenda Bulnes
Miguel Martinez
Yes Prep @ Northbrook High
Angel Sanchez
Anthony Murillo
Atalia Ibarra
Diego Altamirano
Giovani Flores
Jahaziel Ibarra
Jesus Uroza
Jose Velazquez
Kevin Nacianceno
Vanessa Espino Campos
Spring Branch Academic Institute
David Osorio
Sophie Sagastume
Spring Woods High School
Belen Garcia
Christian Torres
Cristopher Melendez
Mia Yetiv
Nina Skae
Veronica Paz
Stratford High School
Isabel Filobelo
Isabella Rincon
Isabel Kerry
Layla Walker
Nicolas Boza
Sophia Benner
Westchester Academy for International Studies
Alexia Valdes
America Torres Hernandez
Andrea De Los Santos Barrera
Archer Liga
Fatema Elsayad
Geovanny Melgar
Glen Sanchez
Ian Diaz
Isabella Maradiago
Ivonne Mejia
Kimberly Phan
Leslie Cruz
Michael Rangel
Sofia Barrera
William Moore
National African American Recognition Recipients:
Memorial High School
Chima Nwaukwa
Isabel Smith
Northbrook High School
Jewaun Binion
Spring Woods High School
Cameron Cooper
Nina Skae
Westchester Academy for International Studies
Isabella Maradiago
National Indigenous Recognition Recipient:
Memorial High School
Cydney Lopez
Josephine Hutchinson
Congratulations to all our semifinalists and recognition program recipients! These students will be recognized at the SBISD Board of Trustees regular meeting on October 23.