National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) has recently released the names of the first group of winners in the 65th annual National Merit Scholarship Program from the Southside of Indianapolis and Greenwood: Jenna B. Hans, Joseph D. Sargent and Joshua C. Stevenson of Center Grove High School and Ryan T. Flick of Roncalli High School. Hans, who plans on studying biomedical engineering, Sargent, who plans to study finance, and Stevenson, who plans on studying software engineering, have received the National Merit Rolls-Royce Scholarship. Flick, who plans to study finance, has received the National Merit Fifth Third Scholarship. Rolls-Royce partnership with NMSC supports eligible children and stepchildren of employees. Fifth Third Foundation awards to the children of company employees as part of its commitment to higher education.
Jenna B. Hans GREENWOOD 46143
Probable career field: Biomedical Engineering
CENTER GROVE H. S., GREENWOOD
NATIONAL MERIT ROLLS-ROYCE SCHOLARSHIP
A global provider of power systems and services for use on land, at sea and in air, Rolls-Royce serves four markets: civil aerospace,
defense aerospace, marine and energy. Rolls-Royce invests in core technologies, people, and capabilities to expand and fortify its
products, improve efficiency and enhance the environmental performance of its products. Rolls-Royce employs nearly 40,000
people worldwide, including
The students are three of approximately 1,000 distinguished high school seniors who won corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarship awards financed by about 160 corporations, company foundations and other business organizations. Scholars were selected from students who advanced to the finalist level in the National Merit Scholarship competition and met criteria of their scholarship sponsors.
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 $1,000 to $10,000 per year. Some provide a single payment between $2,500 and $5,000. Recipients can use their awards at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university of their choice.
NMSC will name recipients of National Merit® $2,500 Scholarships on May 13, and winners of college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards on June 3 and July 13. By the conclusion of this year’s competition, about 7,600 academic champions will have won National Merit Scholarships worth more than $30 million.
Funding for these National Merit Scholarships is provided by corporate organizations that represent nearly all sectors of American industry. Sponsors from the business community have underwritten awards offered in all 65 competitions, expending or committing approximately $820 million to support the intellectual development of the nation’s scholastically talented youth.
Over 1.5 million juniors in approximately 21,000 high schools entered the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program when they took the 2018 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. In September 2019, some 16,000 semifinalists were designated on a state representational basis in numbers proportional to each state’s percentage of the national total of graduating high school seniors.
Semifinalists were the highest-scoring program entrants in each state and represented less than one percent of the nation’s seniors. To be considered for a National Merit Scholarship, semifinalists had to fulfill requirements to advance to finalist standing. Each semifinalist was asked to complete a detailed scholarship application, which included writing an essay and providing information about extracurricular activities, awards and leadership positions. Semifinalists also had to have an outstanding academic record, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, and earn SAT® or ACT® scores that confirmed their qualifying test performance.
From the semifinalist group, some 15,000 met finalist requirements. By the conclusion of the 2020 competition, about 7,600 finalists will have been selected to receive National Merit Scholarships totaling over $30 million. Winners are the finalist candidates judged to have the strongest combination of academic skills and achievements, extracurricular accomplishments and potential for success in rigorous college studies. NMSC, a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance, was established in 1955 to conduct the National Merit Scholarship Program. The majority of National Merit Scholarships offered each year are underwritten by some 400 independent corporate and college sponsors that support NMSC’s efforts to honor the nation’s scholastically talented youth and encourage academic excellence at all levels of education.
