Ten students from the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District (PYLUSD), representing both El Dorado and Valencia high schools, have been named National Merit finalists by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC).
These individuals are among the top .5 percent of the 1.5 million program entrants in the nation. They will now continue to compete for scholarships through the National Merit program.
El Dorado High School
- Tori Lazerson
Valencia High School
- Joyce Chew
- Zoha Jamal
- Yoonsik Kim
- Julia Lai
- Andy Li
- Andrew M. Nguyen
- Tanya Nguyen
- Milan Patel
- Rubin Patel
“We couldn’t be more proud of these students,” said PYLUSD Superintendent Dr. Doug Domene. “Being a National Merit finalist is truly one of the top honors a high school student can achieve. It speaks not only to the talents and abilities of our students, but also to the rigorous academic offerings of our award-winning district.”
These students were among 16,000 semifinalists named in September recognizing each state’s top students. To become a finalist, the semifinalist and his or her high school submitted a detailed scholarship application in which they provided information about the semifinalist’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received.
All winners of the Merit Scholarship awards are chosen from the finalist group based on their abilities, skills and accomplishments throughout their lives without regard to gender, race, ethnic origin or religious preference. For more information, visit www.nationalmerit.org.
Congratulations PYLUSD scholars!
Tori, you are one of the best.
Tori, I’m so proud of you. Congratulations!!