Six students named National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC®) has selected six Prince William County Public Schools (PWCS) students as 2026 National Merit® Scholarship Program Semifinalists. Congratulations to our semifinalists:

  • Luke Davis, Battlefield High School
  • Alexander Gushi, Battlefield High School
  • Rebecca Clark, C.D. Hylton High School
  • Julienne Lim, Charles J. Colgan Sr. High School
  • Benjamin Fu, Gainesville High School
  • Luke Pomfret, Patriot High School

In addition to these students, the following students—who previously attended PWCS and now attend the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology—also qualified:

  • Nikolas Fitzpatrick and Jayden Yang, previous students at Gainesville Middle School
  • Kaleb Hickling, previous student at Woodbridge Middle School
  • Nathaniel Kerr, previous student at Rippon Middle School
  • Matthew Ryan, previous student at Ronald Wilson Reagan Middle School

More than 16,000 high school seniors from across the nation have been selected as semifinalists for the 71st annual National Merit Scholarship Program. These students now have the chance to continue in the competition for thousands of National Merit Scholarships, which are collectively worth nearly $26 million and will be awarded in spring 2026.

A semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn SAT® or ACT® scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the 2024 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®).

To become a finalist, the semifinalist and a high school official must submit a detailed scholarship application, in which they provide information about the semifinalist’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received.

2026 National Merit Scholarship winners will be announced beginning in spring 2026.

For more information about the National Merit® Scholarship Program, please visit their website.