Two East Cobb Students Win National Merit Corporate Scholarships

EAST COBB, GA —Two students from East Cobb high schools are among roughly 1,000 seniors nationwide who've won corporate-sponsored 2021 National Merit scholarships.

• Vishaal Kareti of Wheeler High School in Marietta will receive a National Merit Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. Scholarship, sponsored by the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation. Kareti plans to study computer science.
• Victoria Ann Dutkiewicz of Lassiter High School in Marietta will receive a National Merit James E. Casey Scholarship, sponsored by United Parcel Service. Dutkiewicz's course of study is undecided.

The National Merit Scholarship Corp. announced the awards Wednesday.

Scholars were selected from finalists in the National Merit Scholarship competition who met criteria of their scholarship sponsors. Corporate sponsors provide 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 wants to encourage

Most awards are renewable for up to four years of undergraduate study, and they provide annual stipends from $1,000 to $10,000 per year. Some provide a single payment between $2,500 and $5,000. Recipients can use their awards at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university of their choice.

Wednesday's announcement of 2021 scholarship winners is the first this year. The National Merit Scholarship Corp. will name recipients of $2500 scholarships on May 12, and winners of college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards on June 2 and July 12. By the conclusion of this year’s competition, about 7,500 academic champions will have won National Merit Scholarships worth approximately $30 million.