Northwest suburban students win corporate-sponsored merit scholarships

Northwest suburban students are among the more than 1,000 distinguished high school seniors have won corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarship awards financed by about 200 corporations, company foundations, and other business organizations.

Corporate sponsors provide National Merit Scholarships for Finalists who are children of their employees, who are residents of communities the company serves, or who plan to pursue college majors or careers the sponsor wishes to encourage.

Most of these awards are renewable for up to four years of college undergraduate study and provide annual stipends that range from $500 to $10,000 per year. Some provide a single payment between $2,500 and $5,000.

Here are the winners with Northwest suburban connections:

• Nikhil R. Arora, Buffalo Grove, Adlai E. Stevenson High School. Probable career field: Engineering. Scholarship provider: Aon Corp.

• Arvind Kumar, of Buffalo Grove and Adlai E. Stevenson High School. Probable career field: Computer Science. Scholarship provider: Walgreen Co.

• Monet J. Lee, of Buffalo Grove and Adlai E. Stevenson High School. Probable career field: Medicine. Scholarship provider: Omron Corp.

• Vivek Vermani, of Buffalo Grove and the Illinois Mathematics & Science Academy. Probable career field: Chemical Engineering. Scholarship provider: Aon Corp.

• Caroline Stanton, of Deer Park and Barrington Community High School. Probable career field: Biochemistry. Scholarship provider: Astellas Pharma US, Inc.

• Andrea L. Schuman, of Hoffman Estates and Barrington Community High School. Probable career field: Biomedical Engineering. Scholarship provider: The PepsiCo Foundation.

• Gina H. Park, of Inverness and Barrington Community High School. Probable career field: Business Management. Scholarship provider: The State Farm Companies Foundation.

• Michelle Ling, of Kildeer and Adlai E. Stevenson High School. Probable career field: Finance. Scholarship provider: The Motorola Solutions Foundation.

• Cindy Luan, of Long Grove and Adlai E. Stevenson High School. Probable career field: Law. Scholarship provider: Astellas Pharma US, Inc.

• Karen E. Whisler, of Long Grove and Adlai E. Stevenson High School. Probable career field: International Law. Scholarship provider: ConAgra Foods Inc.

• Ruchika Darapaneni, of Mount Prospect and Prospect High School. Probable career field: Neuroscience. Scholarship provider: Walgreens Co.

• Alexander W. Lubinec, of Mount Prospect and St. Viator High School. Probable career field: Veterinary Medicine. Scholarship provider: McKesson Corp.

• Kara M. Burton, of Palatine and Palatine High School. Probable career field: Mechanical Engineering. Scholarship provider: The R.R. Donnelley Foundation.

• Alexander P. Solberg, of Park Ridge and Maine South High School. Probable career field: Finance. Scholarship provider: Automatic Data Processing Inc., awarding the Henry Taub Memorial Scholarship.

• Jennie Yang, of Rolling Meadows and William Fremd High School. Probable career field: Engineering. Scholarship provider: Walgreen Co.

• Melissa T. Tran, of Schaumburg and Schaumburg High School. Probable career field: Medical Research. Scholarship provider: Accenture LLP.