The National Merit Scholarship has recognized over three million students and provided more than 396,000 scholarships worth over $1.5 billion. Eric Lujan, senior, was one of the three scholarship winners in the Clark County School District.
Lujan will head to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology this fall to study computer science and electrical engineering; the scholarship will help pay for most of his college tuition.
“When I got the letter, at first I didn’t think anything of it because it just seemed like a regular piece of mail. Then when I opened it I was so happy. It didn’t sink in at first,” Lujan said.
There were more than 1.4 million high school juniors who entered the competition. Among the first 1,000 students to be honored were the Las Vegas students who had to meet certain criteria set by corporate sponsors.
The requirements of the NMSC, in addition to getting a high score on the PSAT test, are to be enrolled as a high school student (traditional or home schooled) and be a citizen of the United States.
Winners can receive anywhere from $500 to $10,000 a year in scholarship money for college.
“I’m very committed now to going to MIT. I really need this money because I’m going to need all the help I can get to help pay for it,” Lujan said.
In addition to winning the NMSC, Lujan was also awarded the Harvey Dondero scholarship, a $1,000 grant for his achievements and essay application in Varsity Quiz.
