Thirty-Six FCPS Students Named National Merit Scholarship Winners

By Communication and Community Relations
FCPS News
May 10, 2023

Thirty-six students from nine Fairfax County high schools have been named winners of $2,500 scholarships from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC). Scholarship winners are part of a group of approximately 2,500 National Merit finalists chosen to receive scholarships in 2023 primarily financed by the NMSC.  

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

  • Saira Nagda (medicine), West Potomac High School. 
  • Tanish Jain (computer science), Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST). 
  • Jessica Yixiu Wang (computer science), TJHSST.
  • Rohan Puri (industrial engineering), Lake Braddock Secondary School.
  • Amit Sai Erraguntla (computer science), TJHSST.
  • Rachel Yian Lee (international business), Chantilly High School.
  • Aditya Vasantharao (computer science), TJHSST.
  • Tarini Basireddy (biomedical engineering), TJHSST.
  • Jessica Chung (astrophysics), TJHSST.
  • Bryan Hong (biomedical engineering), TJHSST.
  • Sean Noh (computer science), Oakton High School.
  • Grace Guan (statistics), TJHSST.
  • Josephine Amspaugh (neuroscience), Langley High School.
  • Angela Zhang (computer science), TJHSST.
  • Utkarsh Bansal (finance), Westfield High School.
  • Audhav Durai (computer science), TJHSST.
  • Srihan Kotnana (computer science), Westfield High School.
  • Deccan Maniam (computer engineering), TJHSST.
  • Sudeep Orvoy (pediatrics), Chantilly High School.
  • Timothy Johanson (chemistry), TJHSST.
  • Taein Kim (computer science), TJHSST.
  • Stephanie Ma (civil engineering), Langley High School.
  • Alexander Pomper (science/research), Langley High School.
  • Anisha Talreja (business), TJHSST.
  • Emma Yang (medicine), McLean High School.
  • Olivia Zhang (public health), McLean High School.
  • Isabella Xindi Zhu (computer science), TJHSST.
  • Lillian Zhu (economics), TJHSST.
  • Sauman Das (computer science), TJHSST.
  • Cindy Li (computer science), Oakton High School.
  • Jeffrey Cheng (aerospace engineering), McLean High School. 
  • Lauren Hyde (computer science), TJHSST.
  • Ethan Caldwell (historian of science), TJHSST.
  • Deborah Saemee Kim (biomedicine), Marshall High School.
  • Daliya Sakina Rizvi (surgical medicine), Langley High School.
  • Nimesh Rudra (medicine), TJHSST.

Each of the FCPS winners received a scholarship supported by the NMSC’s own funds. 

Each scholarship winner was evaluated on his or her academic record, including difficulty level of subjects studied and grades earned; scores from two standardized tests; contributions and leadership in school and community activities; a personal essay; and a recommendation from a high school official. The number of winners named in a state is in proportion to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating high school seniors. Winners are chosen by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, not the school district.

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