Five high school students from Morgantown and Preston County are in elite academic company today.
The students — four from Morgantown High and one from Preston High — have been named National Merit Scholars for 2022, the organization announced this week.
Morgantown High led the state in scholarship recipients. They are: Alice Ziwen Guo, Elena Kurov, Amber Li and Celina Liang.
Lowell Cerbone is Preston High’s scholar.
Thirteen scholars in all are from West Virginia, the organization said. Yearly, some 7,600 students across the U.S. are awarded about $28 million in scholarships.
Across the Mountain State, George Washington High and Capital High in Charleston each boast a winner, as does Charleston Catholic.
Huntington High in Huntington also had two scholars.
Man High School in Logan County is now home to a National Merit scholar. Princeton High and Bridgeport High each had a scholar recognized, also.
The National Merit Scholarship program was born of the Cold War in 1955, over concerns the U.S. was lagging intellectually in the world.
Its goals, the organization said, were to encourage young students to develop their full academic and professional potential.
After passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the program expanded with its National Achievement Scholarship Program for high-achieving Black students.
Scholarships from the nonprofit organization are underwritten with its own funds and 400 supporting businesses nationwide.
More than 350,000 have earned the Merit Scholar title since 1955.
Famous National Merit finalists include Bill Gates, blues guitarist Elvin Bishop and filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan.
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