Gwinnett students awarded National Merit Scholarships

Gwinnett County high school seniors awarded National Merit scholarships.

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Gwinnett County Public Schools announced that seven GCPS seniors representing three district high schools were selected as 2018 National Merit Scholarship Corporation scholarship winners.

The student earn corporate-sponsored scholarships to help fund their college education. These National Merit Scholars are part of a group of distinguished students nationwide judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies.

This year's Corporate-Sponsored National Merit Scholarship winners from Gwinnett are:

Andy T. Chea of Central Gwinnett HS received the NATIONAL MERIT NOVARTIS SCHOLARSHIP.

The Novartis Group companies are leading manufacturers of pharmaceuticals and healthcare products.

The student’s probable career field is biology.

Preethi Narayan of Duluth High School

Probable career field: Industrial Engineering received the NATIONAL MERIT ADP HENRY TAUB MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP.

Automatic Data Processing Inc., with over $7 billion in revenues and 500,000 clients, is one of the largest independent computing services in the United States. Merit Scholarship awards are funded by the ADP Foundation for the children of ADP employees.

The student’s probable career field is biology.

Salome M. Birhanu of Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology received the NATIONAL MERIT MACY'S, INC. SCHOLARSHIP.

Macy's Inc., supports scholarship awards for children of Macy's and Bloomingdale's employees (or to qualified employees themselves). These scholarships are a key part of the company's focus areas of education, arts and culture, women's issues, minority issues, and AIDS/HIV research and awareness. Macy's, Inc., operates Macy's and Bloomingdale's in 45 states, as well as macys.com and Bloomingdale's By Mail.

The student’s probable career field is biomedical engineering.

Emma Q. Cooper of Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology received the NATIONAL MERIT COUNTRY SCHOLARSHIP

The COUNTRY Scholarship Program provides awards for children of COUNTRY Financial employees and financial representatives. COUNTRY, in partnership with its financial representatives, helps families, individuals and businesses protect their possessions and achieve financial security. COUNTRY offers a full range of insurance and financial products and services from auto, home and life insurance to estate planning services, investment management and annuities. COUNTRY Financial is based in Bloomington, Illinois.

The student’s probable career field is microbiology/immunology.

Nathaniel Gieseking of Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology received the NATIONAL MERIT STATE FARM COMPANIES FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIP.

The State Farm Companies Foundation believes in developing visionary youth through the power of education. Each spring, the Foundation awards 100 scholarships to legal dependents of employees, agents, and retirees of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company and its subsidiaries. State Farm Companies Foundation is a tax-exempt private foundation funded by State Farm, the largest auto insurer in the U.S.

The student’s probable career field is mechanical engineering.

Frank Hu of Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology received the  NATIONAL MERIT NOVO NORDISK INC. SCHOLARSHIP.

Novo Nordisk is a world leader in diabetes care with an 80-year history of diabetes innovation. In addition, Novo Nordisk has a leading position within areas such as hemostasis management, growth hormone therapy, and hormone therapy for women. As part of its commitment to employees and education, Novo Nordisk is proud to sponsor Merit Scholarship awards for children of its United States employees.

The student’s probable career field is chemistry.

Dhaivat M. Mehta of Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology received the NATIONAL MERIT ACI WORLDWIDE INC. SCHOLARSHIP.

ACI Worldwide is a global leader in electronic payments. Our Universal Payments software is used by the world's top banks and retailers to process more than $14 trillion in transactions each day. If you've shopped online or withdrawn money at an ATM, there's a good chance ACI made your transaction possible. In honor of our talented team of ACIers, we sponsor National Merit Scholarships to recognize the exceptional educational achievements of their children and to support the pursuit of dreams.

The student’s probable career field is investment banking.

These students are among one group of winners in the 63nd annual National Merit Scholarship program. This year, more than 1,000 distinguished high school seniors across the country have won corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarship awards financed by about 200 corporations, company foundations, and other business organizations.

Scholars were selected from students who advanced to the finalist level in the National Merit Scholarship competition and met criteria of their scholarship sponsors. Corporate sponsors provide National Merit Scholarships for finalists who are children of their employees, residents of communities the company serves, or students who plan to pursue college majors or careers the sponsor wishes to encourage.

Most corporate-funded awards are renewable for up to four years of college undergraduate study and provide annual stipends that range from $500 to $10,000 per year. Some provide a single payment between $2,500 and $5,000. Recipients can use their awards at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university of their choice.

The competition began when more than 1.6 million high school juniors from 22,000 high schools took the 2016 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which served as the initial screening for program entrants. The highest-scoring participants in each state were then selected as semifinalists. From the semifinalist group, 15,000 met the very high academic standards and other requirements to advance to the finalist level of the competition. About 7,500 will be named scholarship winners, with additional winners named throughout the spring and into summer.