Five Clark County students earn National Merit Scholarships

Five Clark County high school students have been selected for the National Merit Scholarship, a nationwide award that recognizes high-achieving students.

Jonah C. Cady (Cedar Tree Classical Christian), Nicholas R. Farmer (Skyview High), Shangqiu Li (Camas High), Ethan Tay (Mountain View High) and Suzanne Xu (Union High) are among a group of 2,500 recipients nationwide, including 88 in Washington, for the $2,500 scholarships.

Selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors, National Merit Scholars are “judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies,” according to a press release from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

The number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the nation’s graduating high school seniors.

Students entered the program after taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test as juniors in October 2024.

Last fall, the highest-scoring participants in each state were named semifinalists, representing less than 1 percent of high school seniors nationwide.

From there, students were judged based on their academic records, including difficulty level of subjects studied and grades earned; contributions in their school and community; essays written by students; and letters of recommendation from high school officials.

The 2,500 National Merit Scholars were chosen from a group of 15,000 finalists.

Students were also asked to list their likely area of study in college. Cady and Xu plan to study law, Farmer plans to study physics, Li plans to study electrical engineering and Tay plans to study computer science.

Students can use their scholarships at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university.