48 Blazers become National Merit semifinalists

Semifinalists of the 2023 National Merit Scholarship Competition were announced on Sept. 14, with 48 of the 147 MCPS winners hailing from Blair. 

Semifinalists from Blair include: 

1. Benjamin Broderick-Sokol
2. Justin E. Chen
3. Travis Y. Chen
4. Kaden K. Chien
5. Nathan T. Cho
6. Elizabeth E. Chu
7. Areeb F. Gani
8. Annie M. Gao
9. Julia A. Gelfond
10. Anna X. Gu
11. Megan Y. Gu
12. Joshua Hsieh
13. Claire J. Hwang
14. Michael C. Ilie
15. Melisa J. Kalayoglu
16. Srihari K. Kompella
17. Elina Y. Lee
18. Katalina N. Li
19. Sean Li
20. Brianna J. Lin
21. Eileen Luo
22. Jonah S. McDonald
23. Anushka Poddar
24. Autumn T. Qiu
25. Anika Rai
26. Kevin Rha
27. Nathan Z. Shan
28. Vijay R. Shanmugam
29. Ellen K. Shepherd Johnson
30. Andrew K. Szabo
31. Milan A. Tenn
32. Grace M. Thomas
33. Solomon N. Ucko
34. Charles H. Wajda-Gotwals
35. Eric X. Wang
36. Joshua Wang
37. Jonah M. Witte
38. Evan C. Wu
39. Kevin J. Wu
40. Claire N. Xu
41. Jiayie K. Yang
42. Kevin Y. Yao
43. Tong Tong G. Ye
44. Elizabeth R. Yuan
45. Kevin G. Zhang
46. Maggie Zhang
47. Caleb Y. Zhao
48. Frederick O. Zheng

National Merit Semifinalists

Photo: Blair National Merit Semifinalists celebrate with staff on Sept. 14, 2022. (Photo courtesy of MBHS Counseling)

Blair National Merit Semifinalists celebrate with staff on Sept. 14, 2022. (Photo courtesy of MBHS Counseling)

Blair semifinalist Kevin Rha reflected on his win: “I was initially surprised, but I'm proud of myself and all the other students who qualified as a semifinalist,” he said.

For other Blazers looking to ace the PSAT and become a National Merit semifinalist or finalist, Rha has some advice. “Freshmen should study for and take the SAT as soon as realistically possible, but at the same time not feel time-pressured,” he explained. “Lots and lots of practice tests will familiarize them with the format of the PSAT and SAT, and testing under duress.”

Additionally, Rha emphasized that being physically prepared to take the test can also have a positive impact on how one performs. “Students should make themselves comfortable with standardized testing before, get a good night's rest, and eat a healthy breakfast the morning of. The way you function physically is a high indicator of how you will function mentally,” he said.

Semifinalists across the country, totaling about 16,000, will be considered to become finalists. Finalists are eligible for $2,500 National Merit scholarships, corporate-sponsored and college-sponsored scholarships, which are to be announced later this school year.

Finalists will be announced in the Spring of 2023.

Editor's Note: The National Merit Scholarship semi-finalists include Katalina Li, Vijay R. Shanmugam, and Jiayie (Kathereen) K. Yang, all of which are members of SCO.