Five Fayette County seniors among 32
in state to get National Merit scholarships

Five seniors in Fayette County Public Schools are among Kentucky’s 32 winners of $2,500 awards from the National Merit Scholarship Corp. Nationwide, 2,500 students were the state finalists deemed to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills and potential for success in college.
 

The Fayette County students (with their probable field of study) are:  
• Robert Cass of Lafayette High School, mathematics/physics
• Mackenzie Jones of Henry Clay High School, neuroscience
• Idrees Kahloon of Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, law
• Allison Wood of Bryan Station High School, engineering
• Christina Zhang of Paul Laurence Dunbar School, medicine
 

On May 23 and July 9, some 4,800 college-sponsored scholarship winners will be announced. In April, about 1,000 recipients of corporate-sponsored awards were named; none were in FCPS. In the end, about 8,300 students will have won scholarships worth more than $35 million.
 

FCPS had 26 semifinalists in this year’s competition. Generally, about 90 percent of semifinalists advance, and more than half receive awards.
 

The National Merit Scholarship Corp. is a not-for-profit entity established in 1955 to conduct this annual scholarship program. The awards are underwritten by NMSC, universities and business organizations.
 

From FCPS