Nine Anne Arundel County Public Schools students have been named National Merit Scholarship finalists by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC).
The students are:
Aaron Ahmadi, Severna Park High School
Evan Crockett, Severna Park High School
Madeleine Hardisty, Arundel High School
Zachariah Jackson, Broadneck High School
Elyse Katolin, Crofton High School
Maya Kirshtein, Severna Park High School
Christopher Lowman, Severna Park High School
Selah Sutton, Meade High School
Nathaniel Weinbaum, Broadneck High School
The NMSC has operated the National Merit Scholarship Program since 1955 and does so without government assistance. Most of the NMSC’s scholarships are bestowed by 280 independent corporate organizations, higher education institutions, and individual donors.
Approximately 50,000 academically talented high school students are honored by the program each year, and about 16,000 of them are named semifinalists based on their performance on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®). Finalists go on to compete for National Merit Scholarships, of which approximately 6,800 will be awarded this year.
In an effort to make more students eligible for National Merit Scholarships and other awards that assist students in experiences beyond high school, Anne Arundel County Public Schools administers the PSAT to all students in grades 9 through 11 and the SAT to all 11th-graders. The exams are administered free of charge.
“I am so proud of all of these students and everyone who has played a part in helping them to get where they are,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Mark Bedell said. “We have put a great amount of emphasis on eliminating barriers to PSAT and SAT assessments and to enrollment in Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses so that we can open the doors of opportunity to more students. We will continue to do so, because we want to continue to see these numbers go up.”
AACPS’ National Merit Scholarship Finalists will be honored by the Board of Education at its April 22, 2026, meeting.