Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics Celebrates
20 National Merit Semifinalists
Oklahoma City — (Sept. 12, 2025) — The Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics (OSSM) announced today that 20 seniors have been named semifinalists in the 2026 competition for National Merit Scholarships.
The OSSM students are Aarush Abrol (Edmond), Fletcher Bowers (Altus), Melody Chen (Norman), Kenzi D’Alessandro (Tulsa), Alex Gao (Edmond), Evan Hembree (Blanchard), Eesha Katta (Lawton), Eunice Kim (Stillwater), Bishal Lamichhane (Tulsa), Edward Nguyen (Oklahoma City), Akshaya Pradhananga (Broken Arrow), Ahmed Rahman (Oklahoma City), Vishnu Raju (Oklahoma City), Ethan Seilas (Oklahoma City), Khalid Umer (Norman), Andrew Wang (Norman), Sherry Wang (Stillwater), Maurice Watkins (Elk City), Joy Yang (Norman), and Suvan Zala (Edmond).
“This recognition reflects the exceptional talent and hard work of our students,” said Tony Cornforth, president of OSSM. “They have distinguished themselves among the very best in the nation, and we look forward to all they will accomplish in the future.”
Approximately 16,000 semifinalists were named in the 71st Annual National Merit Scholarship Program. These high school seniors now have an opportunity to compete for nearly $26 million in scholarships.
More than 1.3 million juniors in about 20,000 high schools entered the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2024 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which serves as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state.
Established in 1955, National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) is an independent, not-for-profit organization. Since its founding, NMSC has recognized 2.9 million academically talented high school students and provided over 377,000 scholarships worth $1.5 billion. The honors awarded by NMSC to exceptionally able students are viewed as definitive marks of excellence and contribute to developing future leaders.
