Eighteen Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) students have been named winners of 2018 Merit Scholarship awards by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC). The students are part of a group of more than 3,500 National Merit® finalists chosen to receive scholarships financed by higher education institutions. 

Winners of the scholarships, with their probable career fields in parentheses, are:

• Karina Holbrook of Langley High School (international relations), National Merit University of Chicago Scholarship.
• Torrey Snyder of Langley High School (neuroscience), National Merit University of Southern California Scholarship.
• Sophia Song of Langley High School (business management), National Merit University of Southern California Scholarship.
• William Taft of Robinson Secondary School (physics), National Merit Carleton College Scholarship.
• Nadia Ali of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) (medicine), National Merit Virginia Commonwealth University Scholarship.
• Matthew Bergman of TJHSST (aerospace engineering), National Merit Purdue University Scholarship.
• Brandon Kim of TJHSST (law), National Merit University of Chicago Scholarship.
• Madeline Min of TJHSST (computer science), National Merit University of Chicago Scholarship.
• Henna Nam of TJHSST (biomedical engineering), National Merit University of Chicago Scholarship.
• Liam Nolan of TJHSST (astrophysics), National Merit Arizona State University Scholarship.
• Soham Ray of TJHSST (computer engineering), National Merit Purdue University Scholarship.
• David Yan of TJHSST (neuroscience), National Merit University of Southern California Scholarship.
• Charles Zhang of TJHSST (surgical medicine), National Merit University of Chicago Scholarship.
• Genieva Beckstrand of West Springfield High School (mathematics), National Merit University of Texas at Dallas Scholarship.
• Jonathon Ranieri of West Springfield High School (mathematics), National Merit University of Southern California Scholarship.
• Mason Joiner of Westfield High School (undecided), National Merit University of South Carolina Scholarship.
• Andrew Huh of Woodson High School (computer science), National Merit Northwestern University Scholarship.
• Diego Pedulla-Smith of Woodson High School (economics), National Merit University of Chicago Scholarship.

 Each scholarship winner was evaluated on his or her academic record; an essay and information about extracurricular activities, awards, and leadership positions; SAT scores that confirmed outstanding test performance; and a recommendation and endorsement from a high school official. Each award provides between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the recipient’s scholarship.

The final group of NMSC scholarship recipients from the class of 2018 will be named in July.

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Note: For more information, contact the FCPS Office of Communication and Community Relations at 571-423-1200.