The National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced today that four Westport residents, including three Staples High School students, are among this year’s National Merit $2,500 Scholarship winners.
The Staples students include two twin sisters who are the school’s 2019 valedictorian and salutatorian — Sirina V. Prasad and Anisa V. Prasad. The other Staples winner is Genevieve L. Domenico.
Also a winner is Catherine Lasersohn who attends the Hopkins School in New Haven. The Prasads said their probable career choice was undecided while Domenico listed corporate finance and Lasersohn said electrical engineering.
The 2,500 Merit Scholar designees were chosen from a talent pool of more than 15,000 outstanding finalists in the 2019 National Merit Scholarship Program, an announcement said.
“National Merit $2500 Scholarship winners are the finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies.” it said.
The scholars were selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors, who appraised a substantial amount of information submitted by both the finalists and their high schools.
They considered an applicant’s academic record, including difficulty level of subjects studied and grades earned; scores from two standardized tests; contributions and leadership in school and community activities; an essay written by the finalist; and a recommendation written by a high school official, the announcement said.
