12 BCPS students named National Merit semifinalists

TOWSON, MD—Twelve Baltimore County Public Schools students have been named semifinalists in the 70th annual National Merit Scholarship Program coordinated by the National Merit Scholarship Corp.

The honored students are:

Catonsville High School

• Natalie L. Wallace

Dulaney High School

• Nitara Sen
• Henry Tang
• Oliver H. Vogel
• Timothy Wang

Eastern Technical High School

• Ryan P. Shay

Franklin High School

• Oluwadarasimi V. Olawepo

Hereford High School

• April J. Toland
• Athena W. Zhou

Towson High School

• Eliza J. Annis
• Theodore T. Brown
• Mika E. Thiessen

“Congratulations to these 12 students for their outstanding academic achievement and to the teachers, families, and administrators who taught and supported them,” said BCPS Superintendent Dr. Myriam Rogers. “We know that all BCPS students have the potential to achieve at high levels. These National Merit semifinalists represent that potential, and the recognition they have earned inspires all members of Team BCPS to set and reach higher goals.”

High school juniors entered the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program by participating in the 2023 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NSMQT®). The highest scoring entrants in each state create the national pool of more than 16,000 semifinalists. The number of semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.

Most semifinalists advance to the finalist level (based on their academic records, recommendations, and SAT or ACT scores) and compete for 6,870 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $26 million.

Through its longstanding partnership with the College Board, which administers the PSAT/NSMQT and SAT, BCPS provides funding so that students in Grades 10 and 11 can take the PSAT/NSMQT, and all Grade 11 students can take the SAT. The PSAT/NSMQT test provides practice for the SAT, BCPS educators with important assessments of student strengths and areas for improvement, and Grade 11 students with the opportunity to earn merit scholarships.