Six AISD Students Named National Merit Finalists

Posted Date: 02/16/2023

February 15, 2023 – A remarkable six Amarillo ISD seniors have been named National Merit Scholarship Program Finalists, which is believed to be the most finalists ever for the District in a single year. Notably, they are the only students from the Amarillo and Texas Panhandle area to reach this level in the 2023 National Merit Scholarship Program.

2023 National Merit Finalists:
Amarillo High School

• Michael Carathers

• Lily Sobey

• Jeffrey Zheng

Caprock High School

• Christopher Castaneda

Tascosa High School

• William Ellis

• Elijah Hamilton

AISD consistently produces National Merit Scholars, year after year, with 14 AISD students in total earning either Finalist, Semifinalist or Commended designations for the 2022-2023 school year.

2023 National Merit Semifinalist:
Amarillo High School

• Mehtan Rahman

2023 National Merit Commended:
Amarillo High School

• Eleanor Archer

• Serenity Canales

• Sofia Deichert

• Steven Jalbert 

• Kaylie Ledbetter

• Nathaniel Logsdon

Tascosa High School

• Ethan Evans

High school juniors entered the 2023 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2022 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. These students have the opportunity to compete for more than 7,000 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $28 million. 

From the approximately 16,000 Semifinalists, about 15,000 are expected to advance to the Finalist level, and in February they will be notified of this designation. 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. 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 qualifying test.