17 Richland One seniors named as National Merit and National Achievement Scholarship finalists

Seventeen Richland One students have advanced to Finalist standing in the 2004 National Merit and National Achievement Scholarship competitions. They are among 16,000 Merit Finalists and 1,300 Achievement Finalists nationally.

They are: Juston Brown, Tenesia McGruder and Miranda Montgomery, Achievement, Columbia High; Rob Bockman, Larry McWilliams, Sarah Orr, Spencer Robinson and Ted Wilcox, Merit, Dreher High; Katherine Bristow, Leland Burns, Nina Knowlton, Soren Kornegay, Lilla Theus and Stephen Starling, Merit, A.C. Flora High; Joshua Chappell and Aisha Dennis, Achievement, W.J. Keenan High; and LaTonya Sims, Achievement, Lower Richland High.

Beginning this month, approximately 8,000 Merit Finalists and 500 Achievement Finalists will be notified that they have been selected to receive a Merit/Achievement Scholarship Award. There are three types of awards: National Merit/National Achievement $2,500 scholarships, that are single-payment awards; corporate-sponsored Merit/Achievement awards that may be either renewable for up to four years of undergraduate study or one-time awards; and college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards that are renewable up to four years of undergraduate study.