Seven Northwest ISD students named National Merit Finalists

Northwest ISD is proud to announce and recognize seven high school seniors — the most ever recorded by district — named National Merit Finalists in the 2023 annual competition. 

Steele Early College High School senior Divijasri Anuga and Byron Nelson High School seniors Jordan Brooks, Kendall Grube, Andrew Mass, Jason Nguyen, Mari-Joe Vogtembing and Karen Zhou have been selected from among approximately 16,000 Semifinalists in the 68th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. These talented seniors are now eligible for continued competition in the program and will have an opportunity to compete for nearly 2,500 National Merit Scholarships. 

“We are so proud these students and their commitment to excellence," said Dr. Mark Foust, superintendent of Northwest ISD. “Their hard work and dedication is remarkable and we continue to expect great things in the future for these and all of our students.” 

High school juniors entered the 2023 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2021 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. The number of Semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors. 

The final winners will be announced in four nationwide news releases beginning April and concluding in July. 

To learn more about the National Merit Scholarship Program, please visit www.nationalmerit.org.