DeKalb students among college-sponsored National Merit Scholarship winners
Among the more than 2,500 winners of National Merit Scholarships financed by U.S. colleges and universities that were announced June 3, eight are DeKalb County residents, according to an announcement from National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC).
NMSC, a nonprofit organization that operates without government assistance, was established in 1955 to conduct the National Merit Scholarship Program. The majority of National Merit Scholarships provided each year are made possible by the support of approximately 300 independent corporate and college sponsors. These sponsors join NMSC in its efforts to enhance educational opportunities for America’s scholastically talented youth and to encourage the pursuit of academic excellence, according to material provided by the corporation.
Officials of each sponsor college selected their scholarship winners from among the finalists in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program who plan to attend their institution. These awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship.
An additional group of scholars will be announced in July, bringing the total number of college-sponsored Merit Scholarship recipients in the 2026 competition to approximately 3,500, NMSC stated.
The scholarship corporation added that this year 138 higher education institutions are underwriting Merit Scholarship awards through the National Merit Scholarship Program. Sponsor colleges and universities include 69 private and 69 public institutions located in 42 states and the District of Columbia.
The college-sponsored Merit Scholarship winners announced June 3 are a part of the distinguished group of about 6,700 high school seniors who will receive National Merit Scholarships for college undergraduate study worth nearly $24 million. Earlier this spring, NMSC announced winners of corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards and National Merit $2,500 Scholarships.
The announcement explained that high school juniors entered the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program when they took the 2024 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which served as an initial screen of program entrants. Last fall, more than 16,000 semifinalists werenamed on a state-representational basis in numbers proportional to each state’s percentage of the national total of graduating high school seniors.
Semifinalists were the highest-scoring program entrants in each state and represented less than 1 percent of the nation’s seniors. To compete for Merit Scholarship awards, semifinalists first had to advance to the finalist level of the competition by fulfilling additional requirements.
Each semifinalist was asked to submit a detailed scholarship application, which included writing an essay and providing information about extracurricular activities, awards, and leadership positions. Semifinalists also had to have an outstanding academic record, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, and earn SAT® or ACT® scores that confirmed the qualifying test performance. From the semifinalist group, more than 15,000 met requirements for finalist standing, and about half of the finalists will be Merit Scholarship winners in 2026.
DeKalb County residents included in the June 3 announcement are:
Nicholas William Cox of Brookhaven, a student at Chamblee Charter High School, whose probable career field is electrical engineering. Cox’s scholarship is to the University of Georgia.
Jessica H. Caruso of Stone Mountain, a student at Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology, whose probable career field is environmental science. Caruso’s scholarship is to the University of Georgia.
Gianna M. Kammerer of Brookhaven, a student at Marist School, whose probable career field is healthcare. Kammerer’s scholarship is to Auburn University.
Anna Diskin of Decatur, a student at Heritage Preparatory School in Atlanta, whose probable career field is chemical engineering. Diskin’s scholarship is to The University of Alabama.
Cyrus Rahbari of Decatur, a student at Paideia School in Atlanta, whose probable career field is oncology. Rahbari’s scholarship is to Emory University.
Arianna G. Arnold of Tucker, a student at Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology in Lawrenceville, whose probable career field is medicine. Arnold’s scholarship is to the University of Georgia.
Aswin Ram Krithivasan of Tucker, a student at Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology in Lawrenceville, whose probable career field is law. Krithivasan’s scholarship is to Emory University.
Eliza Dolan of Chamblee, a student at Fulton Science Academy Private School in Alpharetta, whose probable career field is mechanical engineering. Dolan’s scholarship is to the University of Georgia.
