OSSM Celebrates Record Number of National Merit Semifinalists

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — (Sept. 16, 2020)- Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics (OSSM) announced today that 26 seniors have been named semifinalists in the 2021 competition for National Merit Scholarships. This is the highest number of semifinalists in the School’s history.

The OSSM students are: Cade Birdsong (Owasso), Aurora Chen (Oklahoma City), Sean Cheng (Norman), Michael Dong (Edmond), Romy Gou (Ardmore), Harrison Hawxby (Edmond), Derek Huang (Tulsa), Ajay Kilambi (Broken Arrow), Isabella Liu (Edmond), Madolyn Mayo (Sallisaw), Keon Morad (Edmond), Kevin Nguyen (Oklahoma City), Emeka Nkurumeh (Oklahoma City), Aiden Ozment (Norman), Luke Ozment (Norman), Ziyun Pan (Bartlesville), Rohan Rajeev (Edmond), Harrison Riley (Tahlequah), Anthony Tan (Broken Arrow), Anna Wang (Ardmore), Lunea Wang (Edmond), Megan Waters (Duncan), Evelyn Wilson (Fairland), David Yao (Edmond), Daniel Yowell (Broken Arrow), and Sylvan Zhang (Stillwater).

Selection as National Merit Semifinalists is based on results of the PSAT test taken at the beginning of a student’s junior year, the first year of attendance at OSSM.

“This year’s list of semifinalists is the largest in our school’s history, surpassing OSSM’s record of 22 in a single year,” said OSSM President Frank Wang, Ph.D. “We congratulate these students and recognize the schools that sent them to OSSM for their outstanding preparation as students took the PSAT test shortly after arriving at OSSM.”

More than 16,000 semifinalists were named by the National Merit Scholarship Corp. in the 66th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. These high school seniors now have an opportunity to continue in the competition for 7,600 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $30 million that will be offered next spring.

More than 1.5 million juniors in about 21,000 high schools entered the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2019 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which serves as an initial screen of program entrants. The number of semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors. National Merit Scholarship winners of 2021 will be announced starting in April and concluding in July.

Established in 1955, National Merit Scholarship Corp. is an independent, not-for–profit organization that operates without government assistance. Since its founding, the program has recognized 2.9 million academically talented high school students and provided more than 377,000 scholarships worth $1.5 billion. The honors are viewed as definitive marks of excellence and contribute to developing future leaders.

OSSM provides the highest quality education to high school juniors and seniors from throughout Oklahoma. During the two years students attend OSSM, their ACT scores increase dramatically.

About OSSM

Nationally ranked as a top public high school in the United States, OSSM provides a college-level, academically advanced curriculum in science and mathematics to juniors and seniors across the state. Created through legislative action in 1983, the two-year residential public high school serves all Oklahoma schools and students through statewide math contests, day workshops for students, teacher professional development and outreach activities for students of varying ages. For more information, call (405) 521-6436 or visit the website at www.ossm.edu.

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First Name	Last Name	High School	Hometown
Cade	Birdsong	Owasso High School	Owasso
Aurora	Chen	Classen SAS	Oklahoma City
Sean	Cheng	Norman North High School	Norman
Michael	Dong	Edmond Santa Fe High School	Edmond
Romy	Gou	Plainview High School	Ardmore
Harrison	Hawxby	Crossings Christian High School	Edmond
Derek	Huang	Jenks High School	Tulsa
Ajay	Kilambi	Union High School	Broken Arrow
Isabella	Liu	Edmond Santa Fe High School	Edmond
Madolyn	Mayo	Sallisaw High School	Sallisaw
Keon	Moradi	Edmond North High School	Edmond
Kevin	Nguyen	Classen SAS	Oklahoma City
Emeka	Nkurumeh	Westmoore High School	Oklahoma City
Aiden	Ozment	Norman North High School	Norman
Luke	Ozment	Norman North High School	Norman
Ryan	Pan	Bartlesville High School	Bartlesville
Rohan	Rajeev	Edmond Memorial High School	Edmond
Harrison	Riley	Tahlequah High School	Tahlequah
Anthony	Tan	Union High School	Broken Arrow
Anna	Wang	Plainview High School	Ardmore
Lunea	Wang	Deer Creek High School	Edmond
Megan	Waters	Duncan High School	Duncan
Evelyn	Wilson	Thomas Jefferson IDS	Fairland
David	Yao	Edmond Santa Fe High School	Edmond
Daniel	Yowell	Union High School	Broken Arrow
Sylvan	Zhang	Stillwater High School	Stillwater