MLive file photo of Portage Northern. Rodney Coleman-Robinson | MLive.com
Twenty Michigan students have been named in the first group of winners in the National Merit Scholarship Program.
Roughly 830 high school seniors won corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarship awards from 124 corporations, company foundations and other business organizations across the country, according to a news release on Wednesday, April 23.
National Merit Scholars have previously been announced in May, and by the end of the 2025 competition, 6,930 finalists will have been selected to receive National Merit Scholarships totaling nearly $26 million.
Those announced Wednesday to be scholarship recipients were selected from students who advanced to the finalist level of the scholarship competition and met criteria of scholarship sponsors.
Most awards are renewable for up to four years of college undergraduate study, providing annual stipends ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 a year. Others provide a single payment between $2,500 to $5,000.
Each allows recipients to use awards with any regionally accredited U.S. college or university.
According to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, corporate sponsors pick finalists who are children of their employees, are residents of the communities the company serves, or who plan to pursue college majors or careers the sponsor encourages.
Read more: 99 Washtenaw County students named National Merit Scholarship semifinalists
High school juniors entered the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program when they took the 2023 preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
In September 2024, more than 16,000 semifinalists were designated.
To be considered for a National Merit Scholarship, semifinalists had to fulfill finalist requirements and complete a detailed application, including an essay and list of extracurriculars, awards and leadership positions, in addition to maintaining an outstanding academic record.
The following are the Michigan high school seniors receiving corporate-sponsored scholarships with their community, school and intended career path noted.
Student: Julia L. VanDyke
School: Rockford High School
Scholarship: National Merit LPL Financial
Probably career field: Computer science
Student: Max Z. Xiao
School: International Academy
Scholarship: National Merit Eaton
Probable career field: Computer science
Student: Ningzhi M. Luo-LI
School: Portage Central High School
Scholarship: National Merit Ascension
Probably career field: Medicine
Student: Paarth Sharma
School: Portage Central High School
Scholarship: National Merit Zoetis Inc.
Probable career field: Environmental policy
Student: Jason J. Shaye
School: Portage Central High School
Scholarship: National Merit Zoetis Inc.
Probable career field: Computer science
Student: Patrick Lu
School: Northville High School
Scholarship: National Merit Nvidia Corporation
Probable career field: Computer science
Student: Ansh Shah
School: Northville High School
Scholarship: National Merit Owens Corning Foundation
Probable career field: Computer science
Student: Ankita Kannan
School: Novi High School
Scholarship: National Merit Adient Foundation
Probable career field: Medicine
Student: Ava Martynenko
School: Novi High School
Scholarship: National Merit Eaton
Probable career field: Business administration
Student: Divya Nelluri
School: Novi High School
Scholarship: National Merit Walgreen Co.
Probable career field: Medicine
Student: Joanna Elizabeth Philip
School: Novi High School
Scholarship: National Merit Ascension
Probable career field: Bioengineering
Student: Aradhya Shrivastava
School: Novi High School
Scholarship: National Merit Nationwide Foundation
Probable career field: Surgical medicine
Student: Lauren D. Hull
School: Portage Northern High School
Scholarship: National Merit Zoetis Inc.
Probable career field: International law
Student: David L. Li
School: Portage Northern High School
Scholarship: National Merit Zoetis Inc.
Probable career field: Biology
Student: David Y. Shen
School: Portage Northern High School
Scholarship: National Merit Pfizer Inc.
Probable career field: Computer engineering
Student: Ethan Dhomnic
School: Notre Dame Preparatory, Pontiac
Scholarship: National Merit BASF Corporation
Probable career field: Computer engineering
Student: Vishai Myneni
School: Rochester Adams High School
Scholarship: National Meri Walgreen Co.
Probable career field: Astronautics
Student: Jaden Luke Singer
School: Stoney Creek High School
Scholarship: National Merit Aon
Probable career field: Biophysics
Student: Jiayue Huang
School: Pioneer High School, Ann Arbor
Scholarship: National Merit TIAA
Probable career field: Biology
Student: Emma Fister
School: Notre Dame Academy, Toledo, Ohio
Scholarship: National Meri Owens Corning Foundation
Probable career field: International business
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