National Merit Awards Announced For Holmdel High School Students

HOLMDEL, NJ — Two students, both from Holmdel High School, are recipients in two National Merit Scholarship Programs.

• Laina S. Yiu, a Holmdel High School student whose probable career field is medicine, is a college-sponsored scholarship winner to Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, the scholarship organization announced this week. Rutgers enrolls undergraduates at 13 colleges in the state, offering undergraduate and graduate degrees.
• Jacqueline Y. Shen, also a Holmdel High School student, was chosen last month for a National Merit Corporate Scholarship from the Colgate-Palmolive Co. Shen's probable career field is healthcare.

Both students exemplify excellence in many areas, Holmdel High School Principal Matt Kukoda has said. The students are "outstanding representations of the hallmarks of a Holmdel Hornet."

Approximately 840 distinguished high school seniors won corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarship awards financed by about 107 corporations, company foundations, and other business organizations, the organization said.

The organization said there were more than 3,000 winners of National Merit Scholarships financed by U.S. colleges and universities. Officials of each sponsor college selected their scholarship winners from among the finalists in the 2023 National Merit Scholarship Program who plan to attend their institution. These awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship.

An additional group of scholars will be announced in July, the organization said.

The organization is not-for-profit and operates without government assistance. It was established in 1955 to conduct the National Merit Scholarship Program.

The majority of National Merit Scholarships provided each year are made possible by the support of approximately 340 independent corporate and college sponsors.

These sponsors join NMSC in its efforts to enhance educational opportunities for America’s scholastically talented youth and to encourage the pursuit of academic excellence, the organization said.