Dunham Seniors Earn National Merit Recognition

Dunham Seniors Earn National Merit Recognition

September 17, 2021

The Dunham School is pleased to announce that seniors Joshua Harris and Devyani Vij have been named Semifinalists in the 67th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. In addition, seniors Madeline Benton, Sydney Boudreaux, Connor Eagleton, and Patrick Murphy have been named National Merit Commended Students. 

“Congratulations to these six academically talented seniors who embody the pursuit of excellence in all things, which we value greatly at Dunham. Each of these students is an accomplished scholar; they also are talented artists and musicians, highly competitive athletes, and servant leaders on our campus. We are extremely proud of them and their well-earned National Merit recognition,” said Head of Upper School Amanda McIlwain.

As two of the approximately 16,000 Semifinalists in the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program, Joshua and Devyani have the opportunity to continue in the competition for the approximately 7,500 National Merit Scholarships, worth nearly $30 million that will be offered in the Spring 2022. 

High school students enter the National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT-NMSQT) in the fall of their junior year. Of the 1.7 million high school juniors who took the PSAT in October 2020, approximately 50,000 (approximately 3.4%) qualify as National Merit Commended Students or Scholar Semifinalists. The nationwide pool of 16,000 semifinalists represents less than 1 percent of current high school seniors.

Joshua Harris '22
Devyani Vij '22
Maddie Benton '22
Sydney Boudreaux '22
Connor Eagleton '22
Patrick Murphy '22

(Photos by Eye Wander Photo)

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