Grady seniors named National Merit semifinalists

Six seniors were among 16,000 semifinalists named this week in the 2013 National Merit Scholarship Program.

These academically talented students will to continue in the competition for approximately 8,300 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $32 million that will be offered next year.

The six Grady honorees are: Konadu Amoakuh, Troy Kleber, Olivia Kleinman, Jennifer Moody, Isabelle Taft, and Patrick Wise.

Semifinalists named in each year's Merit Scholarship competition show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies. About 1.5 million students entered the scholarship program by taking the PSAT test in the Fall of 2011.

The list of names was released by the National Merit Scholarship Corp (NMSC), a nonprofit organization that operates without government assistance. It was established in 1955 specifically to conduct the annual National Merit Scholarship Program.

According to the NMSC, scholarships are underwritten by the NMSC with its own funds and by approximately 440 business organizations and higher education institutions that share the organization’s goals of honoring the nation’s scholastic champions and encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence.