Five Lisle and Benet Seniors Named National Merit Scholarship Winners

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced their 2013 Merit Scholar designees and $2,500 scholarship award-winners on Monday, including two Lisle residents and three Benet Academy students.

Among the awardees were:

• Christopher R. Wentland, of Hinsdale, a Benet Academy senior, probable career field chemical engineering.
• John M. Corrigan, of Lemont, a Benet Academy senior, probable career field mechanical engineering.
• Divya Shanmugam, of Lisle, a Naperville North senior, probable career field bioinformatics.
• Praneeth Tripuraneni, of Lisle, a Naperville North senior, probable career field medicine.
• Christian J. Yon, of Naperville, a Benet Academy senior, probable career field medicine.

According to an NMSC press release, the winners are the finalists who are determined “to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies,” based on an appraisal of academic records, standardized test scores, extracurricular activities, a recommendation and a finalist’s own essays.

About 8,000 students nationwide earned the award, including 108 from Illinois

The total scholarship money awarded is over $35 million, the release said, with most “underwritten by approximately 440 independent corporate and college sponsors that share NMSC’s goals of honoring scholastically talented youth and encouraging academic excellence at all levels of education.”