15 Redhawks selected as National Merit Finalists
May 11, 2018
Once again, the school leads the way as 15 of 43 Frisco ISD students named National Merit Finalists are Redhawks.
“It is always wonderful to see our students receiving notice for academic successes,” principal Ashley Rainwater said. “It highlights our campus’ commitment to learning for both teachers and students.”
All winners of Merit Scholarship awards are chosen from the Finalist group based on their abilities, skills, and accomplishments.
“I thought that it was a great way to reward students for their academic efforts,” senior finalist Aishani Sil said. “Everyone has to take the PSAT but the prospect of being a national merit finalist definitely motivates many to take the test seriously and try to score very well. Before becoming a finalist, I was notified that I was a semifinalist based on my qualifying score, so I eagerly sent in my application to be a finalist as I was super excited to possibly become a finalist.”
Merit scholarship awards are of three types: National Merit $2500 scholarships, corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards, and college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards.
“I’m honored to get to be a part of a select group of people that represents distinguished academic achievement, and proud because I did put in a lot of work into being able to score well on the PSAT and I’m glad it has paid off,” Sil said. “In general, being a National Merit Finalist opens up more scholarship and financial aid opportunities. Some schools even offer free or greatly discounted tuition for these finalists. For me, personally, being a finalist has been a great boost to my resume as well as my confidence because it has helped me learn that I am capable of achieving a lot if I put in hard work and dedication.”
With no other school in the district having more than six finalists, Rainwater is impressed with the 15 Redhawks have done.
“I am extremely proud of our national merit finalists,” she said. “From athletics to fine arts to academics and community service, our students are doing amazing things.”
The 15 Redhawks named National Merit Finalists for 2018 are:
Deepti Aravapalli
Arihant Bohara
Havish Gattu
Aly Muhammad Hirani
Sai Susheel Koukuntla
Jin Lee
Siddhi Phenil Patadia
Rohith Perumalla
Aishani Sil
Nivan Wadhawan
Ally Hoi Ying Wong
Meghana Ann Woodruff
Daniel Jameson Woods
Charles Menghao Yang
Iris Zhang
Anne Chatterjee • May 31, 2018 at 10:48 pm
A very hearty congratulations to these superstars Redhawks of LHS. So proud of them, wishing them all the very best in their future endeavors. God bless them.