Several local students have been named as semifinalists in the 2023 National Merit Scholarship Program. They are among 16,000 nationwide who can continue to compete for 7,250 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $28 million, to be offered next spring.
The school with the most such scholars was the private McCallie School.
“We are proud of our 10 National Merit semifinalists,” Head of School Lee Burns said in a statement. “Being named a National Merit semifinalist demonstrates hard work and dedication by these students, as well as excellent teaching and a challenging curriculum — all of which together bring out high levels of achievement in a school culture of high standards and serious pursuit of intellectual growth.”
The Chattanooga area semifinalists are:
Baylor School
Ziyang Xing
Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences
Vickie Song
Collegiate High
Othniel S. Kim
Ewan T. Manalo
Vraj P. Patel
Girls Preparatory School
Rowan A. Espy
Meghan G. Gardner
Anisha S. Phade
McCallie School
Samuel J. Baker
James J. Darby
Anirudhha S. Harsha
Aviral Jain
James C. Snoddy
Mark W. Spykerman
Owen D. Taggart
Vibin V. Vellanki
Rhys T. Woodard
Benjamin Y. Yang
STEM School
Taylor M. Donen
Cleveland High School
Bailey K. Johnson
Dayton home school
Zane L. Gates
Dalton (Ga.) High School
Nellie R. Gregg
Signal Mountain High School
Abigail C. Dungan
John Augustin Gibby
Jeffery Lin
Lydia R. Miller
— Compiled by Ricky Young