Richland Two students named earn National Merit Scholarships

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) has announced six recent graduates in Richland School District Two are among more than 3,000 winners of National Merit Scholarships financed by U.S. colleges and universities. The following college bound students will receive between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing their scholarships:

• Nathaniel C. Cason of Richland Northeast High School received a National Merit Clemson University Scholarship. His probable career is Actuarial Science.
• Aleena A. Chattha of Spring Valley High School received a National Merit University of South Carolina Scholarship. Her probable career is Medicine.
• Justin I. Kong of Spring Valley High School received a National Merit Vanderbilt University Scholarship. His probable career is Business.
• Ryan D. Leadbitter of Spring Valley High School received a national Merit University of South Carolina Scholarship. His probable career is Computer Science.
• Christopher W. Ravan of Spring Valley High School received a National Merit University of South Carolina Scholarship. His probable career is Marine Biology.
• Jacob A. Stoll of Spring Valley High School received a National Merit Clemson University Scholarship. His probable career is Computer Science.

Eighty-nine scholars in South Carolina are receiving college-sponsored scholarships from various schools. An additional group of winners will be announced in July, bringing the total number of college-sponsored Merit Scholarship recipients in the 2023 competition to about 3,800. High school juniors entered the 2023 National Merit Scholarship Program when they took the 2021 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which served as an initial screen of program entrants.

This announcement is the third National Merit Scholar release in 2023 by NMSC. NMSC named recipients of corporate-sponsored awards in April and winners of National Merit $2500 Scholarships in May. By the conclusion of this year’s competition, more than 7,140 academic champions will have won National Merit Scholarships worth approximately $28 million.