Students earn National Merit honors
Six Lawrence graduates have received National Merit Scholarships, the company running the program announced Monday.
Free State High School graduates Bill Berkowitz, Benjamin Chapin and James Davis and Lawrence High School graduates Michael R. Jordan, Matthew Rytting and Marie Byleen-Higley received the prestigious awards.
“Certainly in terms of academic measuring sticks, it’s one of the biggest ones you can find,” Free State Principal Joe Snyder said.
The Lawrence graduates join about 8,200 nationwide who have won National Merit Scholarship awards.
These graduates receive scholarships funded by the colleges or universities they will attend. The award amounts are from $500 to $2,000 annually for up to four years.
There are two other types of Merit Scholarship awards. Some graduates win a $2,500 National Merit Scholarship. Others receive corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards.
Dhwani Shah of Lawrence, a graduate of St. Mary’s High School in Raleigh, N.C., received a corporate-sponsored scholarship.
Local winners of the $2,500 prize were Jennifer Green and Flora Jiang, both Free State graduates.
The program began when more than 1.3 million juniors took the 2003 Preliminary SAT, which initially screened candidates.
About 16,000 students then filled out scholarship applications. To be a finalist, a student must be recommended by the school principal, take a second test and write an essay.
Davis, Rytting, Byleen-Higley and Chapin will attend Kansas University. Berkowitz will attend the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville and Jordan will attend the University of North Texas.