Eight Hamilton students recognized in National Merit competition

From left: Disha Deepak, Logan Gierahn, Xander Pearson, Brody Carlson, Zara Sagna, Attreya Attili and Amritha Nair. Not pictured: Evan Rosenau

Eight Hamilton High School students recently learned that they have been named in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program. Eligibility for the distinction is based on results of the 2024 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test which was taken by more than 1.3 million students nationwide.

“To be ranked in the top one to three percent of almost anything is really impressive,” remarks Hamilton High School Principal Dominic Bauer. “Congratulations to our eight students recognized for their achievement. We are proud of all of you and wish our semifinalists all the best in their pursuit of becoming finalists.”

Seniors Brody Carlson, Disha Deepak and Zara Sagna were named semifinalists. They are among approximately 16,000 semifinalists nationwide and will continue in the competition for Merit Scholarship awards. The nationwide pool of semifinalists, which represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. To become a finalist, a semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay and earn SAT or ACT scores that confirm the students’ earlier test performance.

Attreya Attili, Logan Gierahn, Amritha Nair, Xander Pearson and Evan Rosenau were named commended students and are among 34,000 students recognized for exceptional academic promise. Although they will not continue in the competition for National Merit Scholarships, some may be candidates for Special Scholarships provided by corporate sponsors.

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), established in 1955, is a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance. Scholarships are underwritten by NMSC with its own funds and by approximately 300 business organizations, higher education institutions and individual donors to honor the nation’s scholastic champions and encourage the pursuit of academic excellence.