3 Arlington Heights Students Are National Merit Scholar Winners

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL — Three Arlington Heights students have been named winners for the 2021 corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarship Program. So far, 52 National Merit winners have been announced in Illinois.

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 Arlington Heights winners for the corporate-sponsored scholarships:

• Susan M. Byrom, of John Hersey High School, was awarded a National Merit scholarship sponsored by Siemens Corporation. She intends to pursue a career in astrophysics, according to National Merit.
• Maxtan E. Huynh, of John Hersey High School, was awarded a National Merit scholarship sponsored by Northrop Grumman Corporaiton. Huynh intends to pursue a career in computer science, according to National Merit.
• Patrick R. Klem, of John Hersey High School, was awarded a National Merit scholarship sponsored by Siemens Corporation. He intends to pursue a career in actuarial science, according to National Merit.

Winners were selected from students who advanced to the finalist level and met criteria set by corporate sponsors. Most corporate-sponsored scholarships are limited to qualifying children of employees, while some are also open to residents of certain areas or those who plan to pursue studies a corporate sponsor wants to encourage.

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.”

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