Selected students include Ashwin Mahadevan and Samuel Schepps from Cherokee High School, and Sakshi Chopra from Lenape High School.
Officials with the Lenape Regional High School District (LRHSD) say they are proud to announce that three of the district’s senior students advanced from National Merit Semifinalists to National Merit Finalists as part of the 2018 National Merit Scholarship Program.
The students now continue in the competition for National Merit-sponsored, corporate-sponsored and college-sponsored scholarship money.
Ashwin Mahadevan and Samuel Schepps, from Cherokee High School, and Sakshi Chopra, from Lenape High School, were originally selected as semifinalists from a nationwide pool of approximately 1.6 million students from more than 22,000 high schools.
To be considered as a finalist, these students needed to be endorsed and recommended by an official from their high school and were required to submit a detailed application, in which they provided information about participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment and honors and awards received.
According to the district, all three have extensive resumes, with highlights including academic and extracurricular awards and leadership roles.
Chopra is captain of the Lenape Math Team, placing second in 2017 and third in 2018 in the Burlington League competition. She is also president of the Lenape Chapter of DECA and was a 2017 Internationals qualifier. She was a 2016 Nationals qualifier for FBLA.
In addition, she received the Science Achievement Award from the Delaware Valley Science Council in 2017 and is a New Jersey Governor’s School in the Sciences Scholar.
Mahadevan was also named a New Jersey Governor’s School in the Sciences Scholar, in addition to being named an AP Scholar with Distinction. He also was a U.S. Biology Olympiad (USABO) Semifinalist and earned the National Latin Exam Gold Medal. At Cherokee, he has served as vice president of Student Council and president of the Concert Choir, and he has participated in the school’s fall and spring musicals.
Schepps is also an AP Scholar with Distinction and earned the title of Cherokee’s best varsity debate speaker twice. He has worked as co-editor-in-chief and sports editor for the Cherokee Scout, a student-run news organization. He has participated in Student Council for four years, serving on the executive board for two years.
He has also been a member of the Concert Band, Model Congress and Head to Med, which exposes aspiring medical professionals to relevant presentations and expert speakers.
The National Merit Scholarship Program expected about 15,000 students to advance to the finalist level, which represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors.
As finalists, these students remain in the competition for some 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $32 million. Merit Scholars are ultimately selected on the basis of their skills, accomplishments and potential for success in rigorous college studies, without regard to gender, race, ethnic origin or religious preference.
The winners are expected to be announced beginning in April and concluding in July.
“Congratulations to our National Merit Finalists, Ashwin, Samuel and Sakshi, as well as their families. These students and their loved ones should be filled with pride, as this is truly a remarkable accomplishment,” said LRHSD Superintendent Carol Birnbohm. “The National Merit Scholarship Program is a well-known, well-respected and highly selective program that identifies the best and brightest students in our nation. Ashwin, Samuel and Sakshi will forever carry with them the prestige and honor of being a National Merit Finalist. I wish them luck as they move into the next and final stage of the program to compete for scholarships.”
