Senior Alyssa Sharbaugh has been named as a 2018 National Merit Finalist in the 63nd annual National Merit Scholarship Program.
A student at Dunham since the third grade, Alyssa has a 4.339 grade point average, is a member of the National Honor Society and was named an Advanced Placement (AP) Scholar earlier this school year.
The daughter of Kyle and Elona Sharbaugh, Alyssa has been accepted to LSU, Tulane University and the University of Rochester in New York. She plans to major in Biology in preparation for a career in veterinary medicine. “I love animals and want to have a job that lets me help them,” Alyssa said.
One of 15,000 Finalists announced by the National Merit Scholarship Program, Alyssa now joins a select group of academically talented high school seniors who have an opportunity to continue in the competition for 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth approximately $33 million that will be offered later this spring.
Earlier this year, seniors Ana Luisa Rodriguez and Anna Claire Saffell were named National Merit Commended students in recognition of their outstanding academic promise.
Ana, daughter of Dr. Ricardo and Tess Rodriguez, has been a student at The Dunham School since third grade. She also received academic recognition as an Advanced Placement Scholar this year. The honor student also swims for the Dunham “Aqua Tigers” varsity swim team. She has been accepted to LSU, Tulane University, University of Miami, Washington and Lee University, University of Notre Dame and is waiting to hear from Wake Forest University and Dartmouth College. Ana plans to major in either applied mathematics or nutrition in college and has received scholarship offers totalling $252,000 thus far.
Anna, daughter of Scott and Jessica Saffell, is in her eighth year at Dunham. In addition to her academic work, Anna Claire is also a varsity cheerleader. Her college acceptances include LSU, Louisiana Tech University and Auburn University with scholarships totaling $131,000 (not including TOPS). Anna will be attending Auburn University with plans to major in mechanical engineering with a minor in French.
