16 Lake Co. students awarded National Merit Scholarships

Sixteen Lake County high school students are among the 2,500 teens who have won National Merit Scholarships.

The winners, each of whom will receive $2,500 scholarships, were selected from a pool of more than 15,000 semifinalists. The National Merit Scholarship Program, based in Evanston, released the names of the winners Wednesday.

A committee of educators picked the winners after sorting through academic records, test scores, participation in school and community activities, recommendations from teachers and personal essays.

The Lake County winners are:

• Evan A. Ribot of Buffalo Grove, who attends Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire.

• Ranna W. Zhou of Buffalo Grove, who attends Stevenson High School.

• Michael S. Levy of Deerfield, who attends Deerfield High School.

• David R. Palmer of Deerfield, who attends Deerfield High School.

• Daniel J. Werst of Grayslake, who attends Warren Township High School in Gurnee.

• Kenan J. Serenbetz of Gurnee, who attends Warren Township High School.

• Lauren A. Bilow of Highland Park, who attends Deerfield High School.

• Nathaniel R. Balk of Lake Forest, who attends Lake Forest High School.

• Nikhil R. Mulani of Lake Forest, who attends Lake Forest High School.

• Xianhan M. Fei of Lincolnshire, who attends Stevenson High School.

• Joseph E. Gerber of Lincolnshire, who attends Stevenson High School.

• Jonathon W. Ervin of Mundelein, who attends Mundelein High School.

• Kara M. Gitskin of Mundelein, who attends Mundelein High School.

• Rachel J. Choi of Round Lake, who attends Grayslake Central High School.

• Angela B. Cao of Vernon Hills, who attends Vernon Hills High School.

• Katherine M. Geusz of Wauconda, who attends Carmel Catholic High School in Mundelein.