16 Alabama Students Are National Merit Scholarship Winners

BIRMINGHAM, AL — Alabama has 16 students who have been named winners for the 2021 corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarship Program.

The winners were announced on Wednesday and include approximately 1,000 high-school seniors from across the U.S. According to a press release from the National Merit Scholarship Program, the corporate scholarships are financed by about 140 corporations, company foundations and other business organizations.

The awards are renewable for up to four years of undergraduate study and students get a stipend that’s anywhere between $1,000 - $10,000 each year. Some of the awards include a single payment between $2,500-$5,000.

More than 1.5 million students applied for the highly competitive scholarship and the program says that around 7,500 students will go on to win scholarships in 2021 that total $30 million. Winners of the $2,500 scholarships and the college-sponsored scholarships will be announced later this year.

Here are the Alabama winners for the corporate-sponsored scholarships:

• Connor L. Higgins; Athens High School
• Ethan S. Shunnarah; Mountain Brook High School
• Arturo Rodriguez Lopez; Fort Payne High School
• Ria R. Shah: Hoover High School
• Wyatt W. Williams; Spain Park High School
• Timothy D. Alhorn; Homeschool (Huntsville)
• Zachary B. Barbre; Huntsville High School
• Julianna N. Blewett; Homeschool (Huntsville)
• Madison R. Taylor; Madison Academy
• Caroline M. Bendickson; James Clemens High School
• Nolan J. Drummond; Bob Jones High School
• John Bennett Lange; Westminster Christian Academy
• Noah E. Murphree; Westminster Christian Academy
• Devika Shankar; James Clemens High School
• Duke D. Yeom; James Clemens High School
• Jacob L. Copham; Hewitt-Trussville High School

A total of 16,000 students were selected as finalists for the scholarships and the final winners are candidates “judged to have the strongest combination of academic skills and achievements, extracurricular accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies.”