The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) has announced five recent graduates of Richland School District Two are the recipients of College-Sponsored Merit Scholarships. According to the NMSC, Benjamin L. Sears of Blythewood High School and Lee S. Dillon, Mary Ann Gardiner, Ibrahim Jatoi, and Hayden J. Thorpe of Spring Valley High School are among over 2,900 winners.
The scholarships are financed by U.S. colleges and universities. Officials of each sponsor college selected their scholarship winners from among the finalists in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program who plan to attend their institution.
Sears received a National Merit University of South Carolina Scholarship. His probable career field is environmental science. Dillon received a National Merit Clemson University Scholarship. His probable career is biomedical engineering. Gardiner received a National Merit University of South Carolina Scholarship. Her probable career is aerospace engineering. Jatoi received a National Merit University of South Carolina Scholarship. His probable career is patent law. Thorpe received a National Merit Clemson University Scholarship. His probable career is biochemical engineering.
College-sponsored awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship. This year’s competition for National Merit Scholarships began when high school juniors took the 2023 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants.
An additional group of scholars will be announced in July, bringing the total number of recipients to more than 3,600.
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