Fifty Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) seniors have earned spots as semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program, joining an elite group of high-achieving students across the country.
Representing four JCPS high schools, these academically talented seniors now advance to compete for approximately 6,700 National Merit Scholarships awarded next spring.
"Reaching this level in a national competition speaks volumes about the dedication and intellect of our students," said JCPS Superintendent Dr. Brian Yearwood. "We are extraordinarily proud of these 50 seniors, as well as the educators and families who have encouraged their academic journeys. They exemplify the caliber of excellence we cultivate across our district every day."
The semifinalists were chosen based on their performance on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which served as an initial screen of more than 1.2 million juniors across 20,000 high schools. Representing less than one percent of high school seniors nationwide, this group includes the highest-scoring entrants in Kentucky.
JCPS National Merit Semifinalists
Atherton High School
Keeney, Julia
Schadt, Charles
Ballard High School
Crough, Victoria B.
Gadekari, Sai Anusha
Iglehart, Lauren D.
Vatankah, Sameen E.
duPont Manual High School
Achaththekoot, SriRam
Amick, Grady
Anil, Jacob
Arora, Saanvi
Calhoun, Samuel
Cao, Charles
Chen, Jason
Chen, Michael
Deo, Himani
Dereje, Abigail
Englund, Vivien
Gaurava, Vanessa
Gie, Aiden
Huang, William
Jeziorski, Jake
Kang, Bailey
Kannan, Vishwaa
Kim, Edward T.
Kumaran, Santoshi
Lin, Henry
Luber, Jacqueline
Mangeot, Isabella
Miller Kulosman, Ishak
Moore, Ian
Nambi, Charvi
OToole, Bryan L.
Patel, Dhairya
Ramasamy, Aishwarya
Rastogi, Advika
Ricardo Diaz, Ivan
Schroering, Dawson
Shory, Isabella
Stone, Margaret
Sutaria, Ajay M.
Tang, Ethan L.
Thakur, Anand
Tipirneni, Mahadev
Vanderbilt, Marissa
Wang, Erica
Weatherholt, John T.
Willen, John
Williams, Mason H.
Wright, Josephine
Eastern High School
Blanford, Jacob
According to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), roughly 95 percent of semifinalists are expected to achieve finalist standing, with about half ultimately winning a scholarship and earning the title of Merit Scholar.
The program is supported by NMSC’s own funds alongside nearly 260 corporate sponsors, universities, and individual donors dedicated to honoring academic excellence.honoring the nation’s scholastic champions and encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence.