Lake County merit semifinalists named
Lake County high school students were among 16,000 semifinalists named in the 53rd annual National Merit Scholarship Program, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced today.
These high school seniors have an opportunity to compete for 8,200 Merit Scholarship awards, worth $34 million, that will be offered next spring.
To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, semifinalists must advance to the finalist level of the competition by fulfilling several requirements.
The National Merit Scholarship Corp., a not-for-profit organization was established in 1955 to honor the nation's scholastic champions and encourage the pursuit of academic excellence.
About 15,000 semifinalists will advance to the finalist level. It is from this group that Merit Scholarship winners will be chosen. Merit Scholar designees are selected on the basis of skills, accomplishments and potential for success in rigorous college studies.
Merit Scholarship winners will be announced beginning in April and concluding in July.
The following are National Merit Scholarship Program semifinalists who attend Lake County schools:
• Grayslake Central High School: Mary J. Condes, Collin J. Hazlett and Jessica R. Verhein
• Warren Township High School: Allen M. Pan and Cassidy I. Wilson
• Lakes Community High School: Joshua R. Beckman
• Lake Zurich High School: Timothy L. Ekl, Elliott P. Rill, Mark D. Walker and Jessica Zhang
• Libertyville High School: Mary C. Bernecki, Lisa K. Branding, Sarah Y. Cheng, Sarah M. Garren, Erik A. Jensen, Eric T. Li, Margaret J. McCall, Julia E. Nee, Sarah E. Pfluger, Frank C. Yan and Yuli Zhu
• Stevenson High School: Zachary A. Albun, Michelle Y. Bak, Michelle Bentsman, Tara Bylsma, Rachel A. Cliburn, Charles W. Deutsch, Amanda B. Fleischman, Jennifer S. Hong, David I. Jung, Harrison F. Kay, Michelle A. Lee, John O. Lipari, Colleen C. Meagher, Zane W. Muller, John G. Pollock, Caroline N. Schafer, Kelvin W. Si, Audrey Q. Snyder, Eric Teng, John R. Tian, Barrett S. Wood, Steven Wu, Chen Chen Yan, Zifan Yang, Wanna Zhang, Weiting Zhang and Karen E. Zimmermann
• Carmel Catholic High School: Allison M. Hamman, Kaitlyn E. Howard, Timothy A. Ruddell, Lauren J. Schmidt and Laura A. Simpson
• Mundelein High School: Lynn J. Dimick
• Vernon Hills High School: Joshua P. Brickman, Kazuma Gunning and Evan R. Kozil