7 More RI Students Win National Merit Scholarships

RHODE ISLAND — Seven more Rhode Island high school seniors 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 were chosen to receive scholarships based on their accomplishments, skills and potential for success in college, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation said in a news release.

These seven Rhode Island students won $2,500 scholarships on Wednesday:

Aryana Mohammadi, Barrington

• Barrington High School
• Probable Field: Computer Science

Samah M. Alam, Cranston

• Cranston High School
• Probable Field: Undecided

Sabrina M. Leary, Little Compton

• Portsmouth High School
• Probable Field: Biomedical Engineering

Michael J. Garman, Newport

• The Prout School, Wakefield
• Probable Field: Politics

Eric W. Tang, Providence

• Wheeler School
• Probable Field: Medicine

Sarasvati R. Buchata, Rumford

• East Providence High School
• Probable Field: Environmental Engineering

Daniel E. Ventura, Saunderstown

• North Kingstown High School
• Probable Field: Music

The students were selected by a committee made up of college admissions officers and high school counselors. 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.