Among 12 members of the Staples High School Class of 2023 who qualified as National Merit Scholarship semifinalists are, top photo from left: Aalok Bhattacharya, Tom X. Zhang, Colin A. Morgeson, Sharmila A. Green, Lilly B. Weisz and Emma Losonczy. In the bottom photo from left, are: Lucia J. Wang, Gavin Thomas Rothenberg, James Cao, Matthew Shackelford and Katharine A. Shackelford. Photo below is Tegh A. Singh. / Contributed photos

WESTPORT — Twelve seniors at Staples High School have qualified as semifinalists in the 68th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.

The students are: Aalok Bhattacharya, James Cao, Sharmila A. Green, Emma Losonczy, Colin A. Morgeson and Gavin Thomas Rothenberg.

Also, Katharine A. Shackelford, Matthew Shackelford, Tegh A. Singh, Lucia J. Wang, Lilly B. Weisz and Tom X. Zhang. 

The Staples semifinalists are among approximately 16,000 semifinalists nationwide, fewer than 1 percent of more than 1.5 million students who took the 2021 PSAT/NMSQT qualifying exam. They will compete for 7,250 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $28 million, according to an announcement from the school.

“It is an extraordinary honor for these students to be recognized for their academic abilities, and an honor for our school,” Staples Principal Stafford Thomas said in Monday’s statement, “because each of these students demonstrates talents and passions beyond academics every day, making them wonderful representatives of the Westport public schools.”

Add as a preferred source on Google