National Merit Scholarship Program Announces Additional Awards to SC Grads

COLUMBIA, SC – July 16, 2009 –  Twenty-seven graduates from 19 South Carolina public high schools are among an additional 2,000 award winners announced today by the National Merit Scholarship program.

The students recognized today have been granted scholarships financed by colleges and universities.  They join over 2,800 other college-sponsored award recipients who were announced in late May.  College-sponsored awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship.

This year 201 colleges and universities are sponsoring over 4,800 Merit Scholarship awards.  Sponsor colleges are located in 44 states and the District of Columbia and include 120 private and 81 public institutions. 

This final group of winners brings the number of 2009 National Merit Scholars to approximately 8,300.  The 2009 winners are receiving scholarships worth a total of $36 million for undergraduate study.

In addition to the 27 public school winners announced today, college-sponsored awards are going to five private school students and one home-schooled student in South Carolina.  This year’s competition for National Merit Scholarships began when more than 1.5 million juniors in over 22,000 high schools took the 2007 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which serves as an initial screen of program entrants.
 
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation is a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance and was founded in 1955 specifically to conduct an annual scholarship program. The majority of scholarships offered each year are underwritten by 500 independent corporate and college sponsors.

SOUTH CAROLINA PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Additional College-Sponsored 2009 Merit Scholarship Winners

Chelsea N. Revell
Probable career field: Religious Service
SOUTH AIKEN HIGH SCHOOL
GORDON COLLEGE

Devin G. Staack
Probable career field: Mechanical/Electrical Engineering
SOUTH AIKEN HIGH SCHOOL
CLEMSON UNIVERSITY

Kaitlyn N. Pennington
Probable career field: Pharmacy
BROOKLAND-CAYCE HIGH SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA

Shari R. Carter (Cheraw)
Probable career field: Secondary Education/Mathematics
GOVERNOR’S SCHOOL FOR SCIENCE & MATHEMATICS
CLEMSON UNIVERSITY

Rachel N. Arling
Probable career field: Editing
SPRING VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL
WOFFORD COLLEGE

Philip A. Cross
Probable career field: Aerospace Engineering
DREHER HIGH SCHOOL
AUBURN UNIVERSITY

Noah R. Fram
Probable career field: Economics
DREHER HIGH SCHOOL
VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY

John T. Helms
Probable career field: Chemical Engineering
IRMO HIGH SCHOOL
CLEMSON UNIVERSITY

Vivek Malhotra
Probable career field: Medicine
IRMO HIGH SCHOOL
EMORY UNIVERSITY

Ian M. Taylor
Probable career field: Engineering
A. C. FLORA HIGH SCHOOL
CLEMSON UNIVERSITY

Taylor C. Wells
Probable career field: Engineering
SPRING VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL
CLEMSON UNIVERSITY

Hsiao-Han Chen (Florence)
Probable career field: Medicine/Dentistry
WILSON HIGH SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, CHAPEL HILL

Megan M. Sibley (Fort Mill)
Probable career field: Chemistry
NATION FORD HIGH SCHOOL
CLEMSON UNIVERSITY

Katherine E. Clarke (Greenville)
Probable career field: Art
WADE HAMPTON HIGH SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA

Audrey E. Cook (Greenville)
Probable career field: Music
GOVERNOR’S SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS & HUMANITIES
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, CHAPEL HILL

Elizabeth A. Pollard (Greenville)
Probable career field: Research Science
SOUTHSIDE HIGH SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND

Roxane S. Debaty (Greer)
Probable career field: International Business/Diplomatic Service
RIVERSIDE HIGH SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA

Andrew J. Ebner
Probable career field: Medicine
RIVERSIDE HIGH SCHOOL
KENYON COLLEGE

Alexandra L. Frazier
Probable career field: Publishing
LEXINGTON HIGH SCHOOL
WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY

Jessica P. Landers (Moore)
Probable career field: Art
DORMAN HIGH SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

Timothy J. Salizzoni (North Augusta)
Probable career field: Mechanical Engineering
GOVERNOR’S SCHOOL FOR SCIENCE & MATHEMATICS
CLEMSON UNIVERSITY

Matthew Brian Kofoed (Simpsonville)
Probable career field: Biomedical Engineering
JAMES L. MANN HIGH SCHOOL
CLEMSON UNIVERSITY

Camille M. Smythe (Simpsonville)
Probable career field: Medicine
MAULDIN HIGH SCHOOL
WOFFORD COLLEGE

Alfred N. DeAngelis (Spartanburg)
Probable career field: Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering
DORMAN HIGH SCHOOL
CLEMSON UNIVERSITY

Joseph A. Siegel (Spartanburg)
Probable career field: Business
DORMAN HIGH SCHOOL
VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY

Nathaniel M. Edwards
Probable career field: Journalism
TRAVELERS REST HIGH SCHOOL
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY

Michael L. Waites (Wagener)
Probable career field: Law
AIKEN HIGH SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA