Nine McCallie School seniors have been chosen as National Merit Semifinalists for 2022 by the National Merit Scholarship Program. The selection is based on the scores on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Semifinalist Qualifying Test they took last spring.
The students were recognized during a Chapel service on Wednesday.
“These young men continue the long tradition at McCallie of producing exceptional scholars and leaders,” said Head of School Lee Burns. “They represent the breadth and depth of McCallie students, coming from both our boarding and day programs, with differing academic and extracurricular interests. We are proud of them.”
The McCallie Scholars are:
Ian Campbell – Chattanooga, son of James and Eunice Campbell
Boris Khoretonenko – Solon, Ohio, son of Mikhall and Natalia Khoretonenko
Levi Lebovitz – Chattanooga, son of Alan and Allison Lebovitz
Rahul Patel – Chattanooga, son of Chiag and Malvika Patel
Jackson Scarborough – Cleveland, son of Wayne and Paula Scarborough
Vihaal Vellanki – Minnetonka, Mn., son of Venkata and Charulata Vellanki
Matthew Yap – Chattanooga, son of Richard and Belinda Yap
Qijun 'Jerry' Zhang -- Richmond Hill, Ontorio, Canada, son of Qunyan Zhang
Zhengyu 'Byron' Zou – Shanghai, China, son of Ziping and Ying Zou
The McCallie winners were among 16,000 students nationwide who were recognized as Semifinalists. Close to 90 percent of the Semifinalists are expected to complete the requirements to reach Finalist standing, and half of all Finalists will be named Merit Scholars and receive college scholarships.
The 16,000 Semifinalists nationwide represent the top 1 percent of close to 1.5 million students who entered the competition by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Those who will be named Merit Scholars will be given $2,500 scholarships, plus be eligible for related scholarships given by colleges and universities as well as corporations and business organizations.