12 Union Seniors Named National Merit Semifinalists
Twelve seniors from Union High School have been named 2020-2021 National Merit Semifinalists: Courtney Bloom, daughter of Dan and Rebecca Bloom of Tulsa; John Brown, son of John and Kellye Brown of Broken Arrow; Kaitlyn Darrow, daughter of Gerald and Jennifer Darrow of Tulsa; Hannah Fuller, daughter of Darrell and Sharon Fuller of Tulsa; Cadence Garcia, daughter of Kelly Garcia Kilmer and William Kilmer of Broken Arrow; Madeline Loyd, daughter of Matthew and Allison Loyd of Tulsa; Abigail Ren, daughter of Xiaoming Ren and Hua Tang of Broken Arrow; Daniel Sibley, son of Robert and Mei Sibley of Broken Arrow; Shrea Tyagi, daughter of Ajay and Vijaya Tyagi of Broken Arrow; Connor Wallace, son of Dan and Lynn Marie Wallace of Tulsa; Jackson Williams, son of Joseph and Kimberly Williams of Tulsa; and Joseph Ye, son of Qi Yun and Jin Feng Ye of Tulsa.
These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,600 National Merit Scholarships worth about $33 million that will be offered next spring. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the finalist level of the competition.
NMSC, a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance, was established in 1955 specifically to conduct the annual National Merit Scholarship Program.
Scholarships are underwritten by NMSC with its own funds and by approximately 440 business organizations and higher education institutions that share NMSC’s goals of honoring the nation’s scholastic champions and encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence.
To participate in the National Merit Scholarship Program, a student must:
• Be enrolled full time as a high school student, progressing normally toward graduation or completion of high school, and planning to enter college no later than the fall following completion of high school;
• Be a citizen of the United States or, if not now a citizen, a permanent U.S. resident (or an applicant for permanent residency) in the process of becoming a U.S. citizen; and
• Take the PSAT/NMSQT in the specified year of the high school program and no later than the third year in grades nine through 12, regardless of grade classification or educational pattern.
