Leander ISD Superintendent Bruce Gearing, Ed.D., announced that 27 LISD students are distinguished as Semifinalists in the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program based on their outstanding performances on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). 

“It’s extremely gratifying to see our students make the most of this opportunity and excel at the highest levels,” Superintendent Bruce Gearing, Ed.D., said. “Their success is a testament to hard work and investment from themselves, their families and their teachers and I offer my sincerest congratulations.”  

LISD saw a rise in the number of students earning accolades with a 22.7% increase from the previous school year (22 to 27 students).

The National Merit Scholarship Program honors individual students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies. National Merit Semifinalists, who represent less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, include the highest-scoring entrants in each state. These academically talented high school seniors will compete for scholarships worth more than $31 million that will be offered next spring.

National Merit Semifinalists are as follows:

Cedar Park High School – Alyson Jia

Leander High School – Thienquang Nguyen

Rouse High School – Jenna Hanson 

Vandegrift High School – Summer Ely, Daria Fontani Herreros, Isabelle Grimesey, Avinash Gupta, Celia Handing, Caitlyn Harmon, Sierra Held, Spandana Kamepalli, Samantha Kellogg, Pierce Lai, Bridget Li, Rena Liang, Eesha Patel, Matthew Risner, Sydney Suthar, Siddharth Venkatraman

Vista Ridge High School – Ethan Chen, Christian Daniel, Bryce Flynn, Nathaniel Irwin, Sannidhi Koganti, Rebecca Margolis, Cole Pomroy, Kelly To