Sept. 26, 2019

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation recently announced that five Lindbergh High School students have been named semifinalists in the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program. Approximately 16,000 students earned the honor nationwide.

National Merit Semifinalists are high school seniors who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies. Lindbergh’s honorees include Benjamin Duchild, Grace Duong, Justine Gacho, Bayley Helfrich and Emma Scherrer.

"We are proud of these students for their hard work and achieving this prestigious accomplishment," said LHS Principal Dr. Eric Cochran. "This reflects their dedication at school, support from families at home and teachers who prepare them for success after high school."

These students were among 1.5 million juniors in more than 21,000 high schools who entered the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2018 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. The nationwide pool of semifinalists represents fewer than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors and includes the highest scoring individuals in each state.

Each year, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation partners with business organizations and higher education institutions to award 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $32 million. The goal of the program is to honor the nation’s scholastic champions and encourage the pursuit of academic excellence.