Seven Manatee District seniors have been named Semifinalists in the prestigious 67th Annual National Merit Scholarship Program. These academically talented high school students have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $30 million that will be offered next Spring.
The 2022 National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists from the School District of Manatee County include:
Liam Wilford of Braden River High School
Sam Leavy of Lakewood Ranch High School
Coral Bell of Palmetto High School
Alexander Aldama-Apodaca of Southeast High School
Madison Barendse of Southeast High School
Samuel Maurer of Southeast High School
Jonathan Xavioer of Southeast High School
To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. High school juniors entered the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which served as an initial screen of program entrants. Merit scholar designees are selected based on their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies.
Three types of National Merit Scholarships will be offered in the Spring of 2022: 2,500 National Merit®$2,500 Scholarships; 1,000 corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards; and 4,000 college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards. Winners will be announced beginning in April 2022 through July 2022. These scholarship recipients will join approx. 362,000 other students who have earned the Merit Scholar title. For more information, visit www.nationalmerit.org.