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Eight Clarkstown CSD Seniors Recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation

Eight Clarkstown CSD Seniors Recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation 

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) recently announced eight Semifinalists from Clarkstown Central School District in the 67th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Approximately 16,000 students received this recognition nationwide, which is less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors.

Congratulations to the following students:

Rishi Astra (Clarkstown HS South)
Gabriel Dong (Clarkstown HS South)
Abhinav Khanduja (Clarkstown HS South)
Ethan Lin (Clarkstown HS South)
Dennis Luo (Clarkstown HS South)
Karen Sabile (Clarkstown HS South)
Arjun Sarup (Clarkstown HS North)
Devan Shah (Clarkstown HS South)

"I am so proud of our National Merit Semifinalists and wish them all congratulations,” said South High School Principal Debra Tarantino. “It is most commendable that these students were able to achieve this recognition during one of the most difficult years in their educational career."

"This recognition is a tremendous accomplishment. We are so proud of Arjun and all the students for their commitment to academic excellence,” commented North High School Principal Dr. Harry Leonardatos.

To become a Finalist, a Semifinalist must submit an essay and scholarship application which includes information about their academic record, school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment and honors and awards received. Semifinalists must have an outstanding academic record, be recommended by a high school official and earn SAT or ACT scores that confirm the student’s performance on the qualifying test.

National Merit Scholarship winners will be selected from the pool of Finalists and announced starting in April 2022. Finalists will be selected to receive a Merit Scholarship® award in one of three categories:  National Merit® $2500 Scholarships, Corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards and College-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards. Merit Scholarship awards are supported by some 400 independent sponsors and by NMSC's own funds. In addition, every year some 1,000 National Merit Program participants, who are outstanding but not Finalists, are awarded Special Scholarships provided by corporations and business organizations.