Spring Branch ISD Featured News

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.