Tiverton High Student Wins National Merit Scholarship

TIVERTON, RI — Only fourteen Rhode Islanders won National Merit Scholarships. Tiverton's Jessica C. McDonald, who is being graduated from St. Mary Academy Bay View, in Riverside, is one of them. Her probable career field? Mathematics.

Nationwide, some 7,500 high school seniors are expected to collect National Merit Scholarships. So far, three rounds of winners have been announced. The first round included students who won scholarships from corporations. The second round named the winners the National Merit Scholarship Corporation chose itself. Rhode Island accounted for eight, and Jessica was one. The third round added the finalists whose colleges gave them scholarships. One more round is coming in July.

Here are the winners so far.

National Merit Scholars ($2,500)

1. Richard F. Carolan, of Barrington, from Barrington High. Probable career field: Engineering.
2. Sydney Jenkins, of Hope, from Moses Brown School in Providence. Probable career field: Astrophysics.
3. Amanda S. Carberry, of Narragansett, from Narragansett High. Probable career field: International Human Rights.
4. Michael Garvey, of Newport, from Rogers High. Probable career field: Computer Science.
5. Michaela F. Gamache, of North Smithfield, from North Smithfield High. Probable career field: Engineering
6. Aaron K. Cho, of Providence, from Classical High. Undecided about career field.
7. Ruby E. Schnirman, of Providence, from Wheeler School. Probable career field: Biology
8. Jessica C. McDonald, of Tiverton, from St. Mary Academy Bay View, in Riverside. Probable career field: Mathematics

Corporate-Sponsored National Merit Scholars ($500 to $10,000)

1. David W. Cabatingan, of Cumberland, from Cumberland High, won the Nelson F. Peterson Scholarship sponsored by Genentech. The scholarships are given to children of full-time employees in the U.S. His probable career field: Computer Engineering.
2. John D. Beretta, of Jamestown, from Providence Country Day School, won, the Metlife Foundation Scholarship. The Metlife scholarships are given to children of full-time Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. employees in the U.S. His probable career field: Medicine.

College-Sponsored Merit Scholarship Winners ($200 to $2,000)

1. Flora R. Baldwin, of Barrington, from Barrington High, has won the National Merit Harvey Mudd College Scholarship. Her probable career field: Chemical Engineering. The school is in Claremont, California.

2. Declan P. Smith, of Providence, from Bishop Hendricken High in Warwick, has won the National Merit University of Alabama Scholarship. His probable career field: Law.

3. Elena C. Robson, of Riverside, from Barrington Christian Academy in Barrington, has won the National Merit University of Rochester Scholarship. Her probable career field: Psychology.

4. Zachary P. Lapointe, of Saunderstown, from North Kingstown High, has won the National Merit Northeastern University Scholarship. His probable career field: Mechanical Engineering.

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