5 Palo Alto Students Honored As National Merit Scholar Recipients

PALO ALTO, CA –Five students from Palo Alto's two public high schools have been recognized as National Merit Scholars and will receive scholarships worth thousands of dollars each year that may be applied toward their college education.

Names of about 1,000 students were released Wednesday by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, honoring the first group of recipients of the 66th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.

Officials announced that Jacob E. Friedman, Neha G. Joshi, Falecie Q. Wang and Jeffrey Wang from Palo Alto High School and Christo Hristov from Henry M. Gunn High School were among those recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, which is based in Evanston, Ill.

The scholarships – which range from $1,000 to $10,000 per year – are financed by about 140 corporations, foundations and other business organizations. Some of the awards are given out on a one-time basis and range anywhere from $2,500 to $5,000, according to a news release.

Students may use the scholarships at any regionally accredited college or university in the country.

Wednesday’s announcement marks the first of the awards in 2021 by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, a nonprofit established in 1955, according to a news release.
The group will name recipients of $2,500 scholarships on May 12, and winners of college-sponsored merit scholarships on June 2 and July 12. By the conclusion of this year’s competition, about 7,500 students will have won national merit scholarships worth about $30 million.

Scholars were selected from students who advanced to the finalist level in the National Merit Scholarship competition and met criteria of their scholarship sponsors. Corporate sponsors provide National Merit Scholarships for Finalists who are children of their employees, who are residents of communities the company serves, or who plan to pursue college majors or careers the sponsor wishes to encourage.

To be considered for a National Merit Scholarship, semifinalists had to fulfill requirements to advance to the finalist category. Each semifinalist was asked to complete a detailed scholarship application, which included writing an essay and providing information about extracurricular activities, awards, and leadership positions. Semifinalists also had to have an outstanding academic record and be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, the news release stated.