On Wednesday, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced this year’s National Merit $2,500 Scholarship winners. Out of 2,500 Merit Scholars, 11 winners attend schools in Lewisville ISD and two from Northwest ISD.
Lewisville ISD
Flower Mound High School:
Abhijay S. Kodali of Flower Mound, who plans to pursue a career path in medicine.
Page C. Matthews of Flower Mound, who plans to pursue a career in Mechanical Engineering.
Vishnu Prasad of Flower Mound, who plans to pursue a career in Aerospace Engineering.
Hebron High School:
Annika A. Sawant of Carrollton, who plans to pursue a career in business economics.
Neil Jeju of Lewisville, who plans to pursue a career in healthcare.
Zain Mehrani of Lewisville, who plans to pursue a career in consulting.
Danica X. Sizemore of Lewisville, who plans to pursue a career in cardiology.
Tanvi Gupta of The Colony, who plans to pursue a career in robotics.
Lewisville High School:
Isaac S. Fleitas of Lewisville, who plans to pursue a career in computer science.
Marcus High School:
Eshaan C. Sheth of Flower Mound, who plans to pursue a career in medicine.
Neel I. Narayan of Highland Village, who plans to pursue a career in computer science.
The Colony High School:
Riley C. Gove of Flower Mound, who plans to pursue a career in physics.
Northwest ISD
V.R. Eaton High School:
Caleb S. Grijalva, who plans to pursue a career in Mechanical Engineering.
Byron Nelson High School:
Rix C. White of Trophy Club, who plans to pursue a career in business.
National Merit $2,500 Scholarship Winners
The 2,500 Merit Scholars were chosen from more than 15,000 finalists in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program.
Winners in each state are judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills and potential for success in rigorous college studies. The number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the nation’s graduating high school seniors, according to the National Merit press release.
These Scholars were selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors who appraised a substantial amount of information submitted by both the students and their high schools.
This includes their academic record, including the difficulty level of subjects studied and grades earned; scores from the Preliminary SAT and the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test; contributions and leadership in school and community activities; an essay written by the finalist and a recommendation written by a high school official.
NMSC finances most of these single-payment National Merit $2,500 Scholarships. Corporations and company foundations that sponsor awards through NMSC help underwrite these scholarships with grants they provide in lieu of paying administrative fees. Donations made to NMSC’s President’s Fund also provide funding for some National Merit $2,500 Scholarships awards. Scholars may use their awards at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university.
2025 National Merit Scholarship Competition
This year’s National Merit Scholarship Program began in October 2023 when high school juniors took the PSAT/NMSQT, which served as an initial screen of program entrants. Last fall, the highest-scoring participants in each state, representing less than one percent of the nation’s high school seniors, were named semifinalists on a state-representational basis. More than 16,000 semifinalists had an opportunity to continue in the competition.
From the semifinalist group, more than 15,000 students met the very high academic standards and other requirements to advance to the finalist level of the competition.
NMSC, a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance, was founded in 1955 specifically to conduct the National Merit Scholarship Program. The majority of scholarships offered each year are underwritten by approximately 280 independent corporate and college sponsors that share NMSC’s goals of honoring scholastically talented youth and encouraging academic excellence at all levels of education.
Another round of winners will be announced on June 4 and July 14. By the conclusion of the 2025 program, more than 6,930 Finalists will have earned the “Merit Scholar” title and received a total of nearly $26 million in college scholarships.
