The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced today that 11 Lake Washington School District (LWSD) students will receive National Merit $2500 Scholarships, including two from Kirkland. Fifty-one students were selected statewide for these awards. More than 21 percent of students in Washington receiving these awards are from LWSD.

The students receiving National Merit $2,500 Scholarships are from Kirkland are Sarah Chen of Lake Washington High School and Sophia Tevosyan of Nikola Tesla STEM High School.

These students were selected with just 2,500 distinguished high school seniors nationwide to win this scholarship. They were selected from a talent pool of more than 15,000 outstanding Finalists in the 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program.

National Merit $2,500 Scholarship winners are the finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies. A committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors selected these students as Scholarship winners. These Scholars may use their awards at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university.