These 10 Tri-Cities students were named National Merit semifinalists

Eric Rosane

Ten Tri-City high school seniors were recently named among 16,000 national semifinalists in the 2023 National Merit Scholarship program.

They represent the highest scoring PSAT students in Washington state. They’ll have the opportunity to move on as a finalist and compete for 7,250 scholarships worth nearly $28 million this spring at the 68th annual National Merit Scholarship event.

Semifinalists represent less than 1% of all U.S. high school seniors. The number of semifinalists in any given state is equal to the state’s total percentage of graduating seniors, according to a news release from the program.

Students were considered for placement in the program after taking the 2021 preliminary or practice SAT test.

The SAT test measures a student’s readiness for college or university.

Hanford High School senior Grace Deng said in a statement that it took “a lot of studying” to pass the PSAT and end up as a semifinalist.

Kennewick School District

Kamiakin High School

  • Brendan Dunlap

  • Bradley Gorham

  • Ryan Kirby

  • Andrew Mohlman

  • Parker Vladimiroff

Richland School District

Hanford High School

  • Grace Deng

  • Ourania-Maria Glezakou-Elbert

  • Anthony Petyuk

  • Sean Xu

Richland High School

  • Nathan Carr

To become a finalist, students will submit a scholarship application that lists their academic record, extracurricular activities, community participation, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment and honors awards.

Finalists will be announced in February 2023.

About 15,000 of the 16,000 semifinalists are expected to qualify, but only half will ultimately be awarded a National Merit scholarship.

Scholarship recipients are selected on the basis of their skills, accomplishments and potential for success in rigorous college studies. The program does not take into consideration gender, race, ethnic origin or religious preference.

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