27 seniors at 5 Galveston-Houston area Catholic high schools named National Merit semifinalists

HOUSTON — On Sept. 10, an elite group of 27 high school seniors at Catholic high schools around the Archdiocese were named semifinalists in the 71st annual National Merit Scholarship program, based on scores in last year’s Preliminary SAT college entrance tests. 

As semifinalists, these teens have the chance to compete for 6,930 National Merit scholarships worth nearly $26 million offered next spring.  

The students recognized are Emma Nguyen from Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart; Maegan Sexton of Frassati Catholic High School; Cindy Lu and Alexandra Wong from St. Agnes Academy; Riley Nyberg of St. Catherine Montessori; Philip Burguieres and Luis Oliver Lebron of St. Thomas High School; Jacob Baker, Joseph Bi, Julian Carlile, Michael Cavers, Rohan Chimata, William Condron, Daniel Estrada, Makani Flanders, Khang Le, Roger Li, Matthew Lorch, Peter McGinnis, Kelvin Meng, Michael Meng, Jack Prati, Samuel Rubinstein, Mac Stratton, Nicholas Vukadin, Ethan Wan and Logan Warner of Strake Jesuit College Preparatory. 

These students are among a select 16,000 students from across the country. About 95% — more than 15,000 — are expected to be named finalists, and roughly half will earn scholarships as Merit Scholars. Of the 1.3 million juniors in 20,000 high schools who took the preliminary SAT exam in 2024 across the U.S., these students represent less than 1% of the highest scorers.  

To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the finalist level of the competition. This includes submitting a scholarship application with their academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership capabilities, and honors and awards received.  

Finalists will be named in February 2026. Scholarships offered to the finalists in 2026 include 2,500 National Merit Scholarships worth $2,500 each, as well as roughly 830 corporate-sponsored scholarships and some 3,600 college-sponsored scholarships from about 150 colleges and universities. ​