Westford Teens Win 2021 National Merit Scholarships

WESTFORD, MA —Two more Westford students on Wednesday joined the ranks of thousands of National Merit Scholarship winners. They will each take home $2,500 to use toward their education.

Chosen from a pool of 16,000 finalists, the winners will receive scholarships based on their accomplishments, skills and potential for success in college, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation said in a news release.

A committee made up of college admissions officers and high school counselors selected the students. To qualify, students and their schools had to submit academic records, scores from preliminary SAT and National Merit Scholarship qualifying tests, a list of contributions to community activities, an essay and a letter of recommendation.

All told, National Merit said it will hand out approximately 7,500 scholarships in 2021, totaling approximately $30 million.

These Westford students won $2,500 scholarships on Wednesday:

• Joshua Pixley, of Westford, probable career path: Bioengineering —Concord Carlisle Regional High School
• Torsten R. Ullrich, of Westford, probable carreer path: neurosurgery —Westford Academy

The teens join the Westford Senior who won the National Merit Corporate Scholarship earlier this year.