September 16, 2020

By Kelli Gile, WVUSD Office of Community Resources

WALNUT, CA--Nineteen Walnut Valley USD seniors have been named 2021 National Merit Scholarship semifinalists, taking the first step in the highly selective process to earn the distinguished finalist honor.

These high achieving students represent the top 1% in the country.

The students were among some 16,000 nationwide that were chosen from a pool of 1.5 million.

Congratulations to the following students on this accomplishment:

Diamond Bar High School: Sritaran Bondada, Emily Chen, Aaron Hao, Brandon Kam, Caitlin Lee, Camille McCurry, Celine Shen, Nathan Song, Claire Wang, Derek Wang, Benjamin Wu, Chelsea Wu, Breanna Yang, Jacob Zhi, Erin Zhou, and Luke Zhou.

Walnut High School: Prabhleen Kaur, Jonathan Steele, and Nicole Zhang.

All semifinalists have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,600 National Merit Scholarship awards worth more than $30 million to be awarded in spring 2021.

To move onto the finalist round, students are judged based on an application covering their academic record, leadership abilities, employment, participation in school and community activities, and honors and awards received.

Students must also write an essay and be recommended by a high school official.

Shown:

Sixteen Diamond Bar High School seniors have been named National Merit Scholarship semifinalists.

Walnut High School seniors Prabhleen Kaur, Jonathan Steele, and Nicole Zhang have been named 2021 National Merit Scholarship semifinalists.