2nd Round Of National Merit Scholarships: Herndon Student Winners

HERNDON, VA — Six students from Herndon are winners of the second round of the National Merit Scholarship, which awards $2,500 to recipients.

The first round of corporate-sponsored scholarships were announced April 21 and included two students from Herndon.

For each state, the number of winners is proportional to the state’s percentage of the nation’s graduating high school seniors. The program says the winners are the finalists “judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills and potential for success in rigorous college studies.”

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 college-sponsored scholarship will be announced in June and July.

Here are the Herndon winners of the $2,500 scholarships:

• Samyutha Belde, who is a student at Westfield High School in Chantilly, plans to study finance.
• Derek H. Dong, who is a student at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, plans to study mathematics.
• Anuraag Kaashyap, who is a student at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, plans to study computer science.
• Aditvenkat K. Kolli, who is a student at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, plans to study engineering.
• Sahiti Rachakond, who is a student at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, plans to study computer science.
• Carson J. Shin is a student at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria.

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.”