JACKSON TWP — Two seniors at Seneca Valley High School have been selected as winners of National Merit Scholarships.

Rishin Sharma won a National Merit $2,500 scholarship, and Jacob Geil won the National Merit Mary E. Beyerle scholarship.

Sharma is one of 2,500 Merit Scholar designees chosen from a talent pool of more than 15,000 outstanding finalists in the 2019 National Merit Scholarship Program.

National Merit $2,500 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.

The number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the nation’s graduating high school seniors.

These 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: the 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.

Geil is a winner of the Mary E. Beyerle Scholarship in the 64th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. He is one of more than 1,000 distinguished high school seniors who won a corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarship award financed by a corporation, company foundation or other business organization.

Scholars were selected from students who advanced to the finalist level in the National Merit Scholarship competition and met criteria of their scholarship sponsors. Corporate sponsors provide National Merit Scholarships for finalists who are children of their employees, residents of communities the company serves, or plan to pursue college majors or careers the sponsor wishes to encourage.