Five More APS Graduates Receive National Merit Scholarships

2015 seniors receive National Merit Scholarships

Five more Albuquerque Public Schools graduates have been named winners in the 2015 National Merit Scholarship Program.

      An additional 1,600 high school graduates from around the country have won National Merit Scholarships financed by 181 colleges and universities. They join 2,500 other college-sponsored award recipients who were announced in late May. The colleges provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study.

      Nicole Chapdelaine, Jonathan Haase, Julia Nakhleh, and John O’Brien, all recent graduates of La Cueva High School; and Paige Nielson, a recent graduate of Sandia High, join nine other APS National Merit Scholarship winners announced earlier. Chapdelaine plans to study nursing at the University of New Mexico, while Haase plans to study medicine at Northeastern University (Boston) and Nakhleh plans to major in computer science at Arizona State.

      Nielson plans to study chemistry at Baylor University (Waco, Texas) and O’Brien plans to major in physics at UNM.

      “We are very proud of these students and the honor they have received in being awarded these scholarships,” said APS Supt. Brad Winter.

      All the winners qualified as semifinalists based on their performance on the 2013 pre-SAT. To advance as a finalist, students must continue to have an outstanding academic record, be recommended by their school principal, and earn high SAT scores during their junior or senior year.

The students also submitted applications with essays and information about their participation in school and community activities.