15 Seniors Named National Merit Semifinalists & Commended Students

Fifteen Shaker Heights High School seniors have been named National Merit Semifinalists and Commended Students in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program. This year’s five Semifinalists from Shaker Heights include Olivia Cavallo, Nathaniel Price, Lara Sesenoglu-Laird, Kyle Szalay and Neko Tien.

Our group of semifinalists tied for the fourth-highest number of National Merit Semifinalists among public schools in Northeast Ohio, and the twelfth-highest in the state. 

Ten seniors were also recognized as National Merit Students. These students are Julienne Avril, Sarah Holbrook, Isaac Hren, Ezra Phillips, Kelsey Rogers, Audrey Steinmetz, Eli Stollfuss, Alison Teeter, Parisa Tendulkar and Caro Ziv

More than 1.3 million juniors across 20,000 high schools entered the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2024 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). The nationwide pool of semifinalists represents less than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors. Merit Scholar designees are selected based on their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies.

National Merit Scholarship winners will be announced in four nationwide news releases beginning in April and concluding in July. Congratulations to these students!