Today, February 12, the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District (MVLA) announced the names of the district’s 24 National Merit Finalists, 14 of whom attend LAHS. The students first qualified as National Merit Semifinalists due to their PSAT test scores from junior year. However, their advancement depended on many factors, including grades, standardized test scores, leadership, community involvement and recommendations from the school. All of the school’s students who qualified as semifinalists went on to become finalists.

The students will go on to compete for three different types of scholarships: Merit Scholarship awards, corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards and college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards. The recipients of the scholarships will be announced in multiple statements from April through July of this year.

“It is with great pride that we congratulate our 24 National Merit Finalists,” MVLA Associate Superintendent Brigitte Sarraf said in a press release from the district. “These students are among the best and brightest in our community. We wish them well as they compete for these scholarships and pursue their dreams for the future.”

The following seniors are finalists in the National Merit Scholarship program.

John Beutter
Emily Cheng
Runming Dai
Blaine Dzwonczyk
Alice Hau
Catherine Hua
Libbie Katsev
Jacqueline Liu
Jerry Liu
Hongyi Shi
Richelle Smith
Natasha Welingkar
Jonathan Yu
Allison Yuen