25 Ladue Horton Watkins Students Named Nat'l Merit Semifinalists

LADUE, MO — Twenty-five Ladue Horton Watkins High School seniors have been recognized as semifinalists in the 2018 National Merit Scholarship Competition, according to a press release. The school claims the highest number of recipients of any high school, public or private, in the state. Scholarship qualifications are based on students' performance on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, taken in their junior year, officials said.

"This year, we are so fortunate to once again celebrate the largest group of students to earn this recognition. For each of these students, this accomplishment is the culmination of hard work, commitment to their goals and the support of their families and the dedicated educators here at Ladue Schools," Superintendent Donna Jahnke said in a statement. "I have no doubt this is just the beginning of great accomplishments these students will experience, and we could not be more excited to see what their futures will bring."

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All of the students picture above (and listed below) will be eligible for scholarships offered next spring. One additional student, Margaret Woodburn, also qualified, but no longer attends the school, officials said.

Top row, left to right:

• Akhil Kondepudi
• Moses Schindler
• Robert "Trey" Fruend
• Nicholas Whitaker
• Charles Yeldham
• Max Kornfeld
• Zachary Wild
• Kevin Jiang

Middle row, left to right:

• Riley Gage
• Peter Jakiela
• Nikol Nikolova
• David Steiner
• Rebecca Cunningham
• Andrew Hunt
• Kevin Li
• Lauren Ross

Bottom row, left to right:

• Alexander Kanyok
• Nevan Giuliani
• Akshay Govindan
• Donovon Moore
• Felix Hu
• Egret Jin
• Samuel Hiken
• Jacqueline Zeng

Photo by Laura Shea/Ladue Horton Watkins High School