Four IUSD students were named recipients of the prestigious corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarships, the highest number awarded to any school district in Orange County.
The announcement comes as part of the first round of winners in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program. In total, approximately 830 exceptional high school seniors nationwide were selected for these scholarships, which are funded by about 124 corporations, company foundations and other business organizations.
The students were chosen from a pool of finalists who advanced through the competitive National Merit Scholarship process. To qualify, high school juniors entered the 2025 program by taking the 2023 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®). Finalists were then selected based on academic records, test scores, school recommendations, and personal essays, as well as alignment with sponsor criteria.
Winners of the $2,500 National Merit Scholarships will be revealed on May 7, followed by college-sponsored scholarship recipients on June 4 and July 14.
Most of these awards are renewable for up to four years of undergraduate college study and provide annual stipends that range from $1,000 to $10,000 per year. Recipients can use their awards at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university of their choice.
2025 IUSD Corporate-Sponsored Merit Scholars
Shao-Yuan Chung, Northwood High School
Probable career field: Engineering
National Merit Nvidia Corporation Scholarship
Christine Y. Nam, Northwood High School
Probable career field: Biology
National Merit Walgreen Co. Scholarship
Ruhi V. Samudra, Portola High School
Probable career field: Biomedical Engineering
National Merit Johnson & Johnson Scholarship
Jinsi Wang, Northwood High School
Probable career field: Business
National Merit Schneider Electric North America Foundation Scholarship
Join us in congratulating these Merit Scholars!
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