Meet Long Island's 2020 National Merit scholars
Among Long Island's 2020 National Merit Scholars: From left, Paige Robinson of Commack High School, Daniel Min of Herricks High School, and Viveka Jain of Hicksville High School. Credit: Commack School District; Herricks High School/Island Photography; Lifetouch
These Long Island high school seniors are among the winners of various scholarships through the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.
The first installment of winners, which was announced on April 22, received corporate-sponsored scholarships that range from single payments of between $2,500 and $5,000 to annual stipends of up to $10,000 that are renewable or up to four years of undergraduate study.
The second installment of winners, which was announced on May 13, received $2,500 scholarships based on their "combination of accomplishments, skills and potential for success in rigorous college studies,” the organization said.
The third installment of winners, which was announced on June 13, received college-sponsored scholarships that provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship.
Alexa Wiencek
Hometown: East Meadow
School: East Meadow High School
Scholarship: Corporate-sponsored scholarship, which ranges from single payments of between $2,500 and $5,000 to annual stipends of up to $10,000 that are renewable for up to four years of undergraduate study.
GPA: 98.3942 unweighted; 108.4453 weighted
College: Boston University
Major: Engineering
Miles Kim
Hometown: Dix Hills
School: Half Hollow Hills High School West
Scholarship: Corporate-sponsored scholarship, which ranges from single payments of between $2,500 and $5,000 to annual stipends of up to $10,000 that are renewable for up to four years of undergraduate study.
GPA: 98 weighted
College: University of Pennsylvania
Major: Biomedical engineering
Daniel Min
Hometown: New Hyde Park
School: Herricks High School
Scholarship: Corporate-sponsored scholarship, which ranges from single payments of between $2,500 and $5,000 to annual stipends of up to $10,000 that are renewable for up to four years of undergraduate study.
GPA: 4.07 weighted
College: New York University
Major: Biochemistry
Viveka Jain
Hometown: Hicksville
School: Hicksville High School
Scholarship: Corporate-sponsored scholarship, which ranges from single payments of between $2,500 and $5,000 to annual stipends of up to $10,000 that are renewable for up to four years of undergraduate study.
GPA: 102.95 weighted
College: New York University
Major: Global Public Health/Biology with a Minor in Genetics
Rachelle Lee
Hometown: Jericho
School: Jericho High School
Scholarship: Corporate-sponsored scholarship, which ranges from single payments of between $2,500 and $5,000 to annual stipends of up to $10,000 that are renewable for up to four years of undergraduate study.
GPA: 4 unweighted
College: University of Toronto
Major: Biology
Aaron Angress
Hometown: Mount Sinai
School: Mount Sinai High School
Scholarship: Corporate-sponsored scholarship, which ranges from single payments of between $2,500 and $5,000 to annual stipends of up to $10,000 that are renewable for up to four years of undergraduate study.
GPA: 105.17 weighted
College: Northeastern University
Major: Mechanical engineering, Physics
Caleb Deitch
Hometown: Woodbury
School: Syosset High School
Scholarship: Corporate-sponsored scholarship, which ranges from single payments of between $2,500 and $5,000 to annual stipends of up to $10,000 that are renewable for up to four years of undergraduate study.
GPA: 98.5 weighted
College: Tufts (5 year dual degree program)
Major: Math (Bachelor of science ) / Bachelors of Fine Arts
Sharon Zhong
Hometown: Roslyn Heights
School: The Wheatley School
Scholarship: Corporate-sponsored scholarship, which ranges from single payments of between $2,500 and $5,000 to annual stipends of up to $10,000 that are renewable for up to four years of undergraduate study.
GPA: 4.0 unweighted
College: University of California Berkeley
Michael Parrinello
Hometown: Commack
School: Commack High School
Scholarship: $2,500 scholarship
GPA: 104.21 weighted
College: Fordham University
Major: Business
Louis Viglietta
Hometown: Commack
School: Commack High School
Scholarship: $2,500 scholarship
GPA: 105.34 weighted
College: Princeton University
Major: Chemical, Biological engineering
James Zheng
Hometown: Garden City
School: Garden City High School
Scholarship: $2,500 scholarship
GPA: 101.65 weighted
College: Carnegie Mellon University
Major: Math and Computer Science
Nicole Khaimov
Hometown: Glen Cove
School: Glen Cove High School
Scholarship: $2,500 scholarship
GPA: 106.53 weighted
College: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Major: Computer science
Raymond Lin
Hometown: Great Neck
School: Great Neck North High School
Scholarship: $2,500 scholarship
GPA: 98.00 unweighted
College: Harvard University
Major: Biological Sciences
Gabriel Magidson
Hometown: New Hyde Park
School: Great Neck South High School
Scholarship: $2,500 scholarship
GPA: 90.5 unweighted
College: Stony Brook University
Major: Computer Science
Jay Nagpal
Hometown: Dix Hills
School: Half Hollow Hills High School East
Scholarship: $2,500 scholarship
GPA: 98.65 weighted
College: Columbia University
Major: History
Shreya Suneja
Hometown: Huntington
School: Half Hollow Hills High School East
Scholarship: $2,500 scholarship
GPA: 98.59 weighted
College: University of Pennsylvania
Major: Cognitive Neuroscience
Sophie Epstein
Hometown: Hauppauge
School: Hauppauge High School
Scholarship: $2,500 scholarship
GPA: 101.9 weighted
College: Fordham University
Major: Integrative Neuroscience on the Pre-Med track
Shreya Patel
Hometown: Albertson
School: Herricks High School
Scholarship $2,500 scholarship
GPA: 4.16 weighted
College: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Major: Physician - Scientist Program: Biology
Alex Tang
Hometown: Hewlett
School: George W. Hewlett High School
Scholarship: $2,500 scholarship
GPA: 102.507 weighted
College: Princeton University
Major: Aerospace Engineering
Emily Gan
Hometown: Jericho
School: Jericho High School
Scholarship: $2,500 scholarship
GPA: 3.99 unweighted
College: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Major: Biological Engineering and Math
Michael Pecorara
Hometown: Old Westbury
School: Jericho High School
Scholarship: $2,500 scholarship
GPA: 4 unweighted
College: Harvard University
Major: Undecided
Robert Yu
Hometown: Muttontown
School: Jericho High School
Scholarship: $2,500 scholarship
GPA: 4.0 unweighted; 4.2 weighted
College: University of Pennsylvania
Major: Computer Science, Philosophy, Writing
David Frank
Hometown: Bellmore
School: John F. Kennedy High School
Scholarship: $2,500 scholarship
GPA: 99.47 weighted
College: Cornell University - Presidential Research Scholar
Major: Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management
Celina Ma
Hometown: Kings Park
School: Kings Park High School
Scholarship: $2,500 scholarship
GPA: 108.42 weighted
College: Duke University
Major: Pre-medicine, Biology
Nina Cialone
Hometown: Bayville
School: Locust Valley High School
Scholarship: $2,500 scholarship
GPA: 107.08 weighted
College: Lehigh University
Major: Cognitive Science with a minor in Mass Communication
Michael DiSpirito
Hometown: Oyster Bay
School: Locust Valley High School
Scholarship: $2,500 scholarship
GPA: 107.63 weighted
College: Georgetown University
Major: Economics
Michelle Hsu
Hometown: Locust Valley
School: Locust Valley High School
Scholarship: $2,500 scholarship
GPA: 110.81 weighted
College: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Major: Biochemistry, Chemical biology
Arjun Gupta
Hometown: Long Beach
School: Long Beach High School
Scholarship: $2,500 scholarship
GPA: 105.36 weighted
College: Vanderbilt University
Major: Business
Sydney Ginsburg
Hometown: Manhasset
High school: Manhasset Secondary School
Scholarship: $2,500 scholarship
GPA: 4.52 weighted
College: University of Chicago
Major: Middle Eastern studies
Oliver Reinhardt
Hometown: Manhasset
School: Manhasset Secondary School
Scholarship: $2,500 scholarship
GPA: 4.43 weighted
College: Washington University in St. Louis
Major: Math/Business
Elizabeth Wu
Hometown: Manhasset
School: Manhasset Secondary School
Scholarship: $2,500 scholarship
GPA: 4.63 weighted
College: Yale University
Major: STEM, Humanities
Serena Zhao
Hometown: Manhasset
High school: Manhasset Secondary School
Scholarship: $2,500 scholarship
GPA: 4.49 weighted
College: Harvard University
Major: Pre-Medicine
Kyra McCreery
Hometown: Sea Cliff
School: North Shore High School
Scholarship: $2,500 scholarship
GPA: 105.61 weighted
College: Yale University
Major: Chemistry
Ziho Kim
Hometown: Plainview
School: Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK High School
Scholarship: $2,500 scholarship
GPA: 98.97 weighted
College: New York University Leonard N. Stern School of Business
Major: Business
Daniel Flyer
Hometown: Roslyn Heights
School: Roslyn High School
Scholarship: $2,500 scholarship
GPA: 105.86 weighted
College: Princeton University
Major: Electrical and Computer engineering
Jacqueline Albert
Hometown: Woodbury
School: Syosset High School
Scholarship: $2,500 scholarship
GPA: 100 weighted
College: Duke University
Major: Global Health and Biology
Athena Yao
Hometown: Wantagh
School: Wantagh High School
Scholarship: $2,500 scholarship
GPA: 107.19 weighted
College: Duke University
Major: Neuroscience
William Hong Sun
Hometown: East Setauket
School: Ward Melville High School
Scholarship: $2,500 scholarship
GPA: 105.01 weighted
College: Undecided
Major: Computer science
Eirini Drosos
Hometown: Bethpage
School: Bethpage High School
Scholarship: College-sponsored scholarship
GPA: 105.3 weighted
College: Lehigh University
Major: Unknown
Natalie Walsh
Hometown: Centereach
School: Centereach High School
Scholarship: College-sponsored scholarship
GPA: 101.65 weighted
College: Northeastern University
Major: Engineering
Connor Brandvold
Hometown: Port Washington
School: Chaminade High School
Scholarship: College-sponsored scholarship
GPA: 97.48 unweighted
College:Fordham University
Major: Finance
Paige Robinson
Hometown: Commack
School: Commack High School
Scholarship: College-sponsored scholarship
GPA: 102 weighted
College: University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Major: Computer Science
Kayla Quinn
Hometown: Garden City
School: Garden City High School
Scholarship: College-sponsored scholarship
GPA: 97.14 unweighted; 100.22 weighted
College: Fordham University
Major: Biological sciences
Tessie Dong
Hometown: Great Neck
School: Great Neck South High School
Scholarship: College-sponsored scholarship
GPA: 98.0 unweighted
College: University of Chicago
Major: Mathematics
Talia Katz
Hometown: Great Neck
School: Great Neck South High School
Scholarship: College-sponsored scholarship
GPA: 94.0 unweighted
College: University of Chicago
Major: Public Policy
Christina Liu
Hometown: Great Neck
School: Great Neck South High School
Scholarship: College-sponsored scholarship
GPA: 95.6 unweighted
College: University of Southern California
Major: International Relations
Timothy Liu
Hometown: New Hyde Park
School: Great Neck South High School
Scholarship: College-sponsored scholarship
GPA: 94.9 unweighted
College: Boston University
Major: Microbiology
Shourav Saha
Hometown: New Hyde Park
School: Great Neck South High School
Scholarship: College-sponsored scholarship
GPA: 94.1 unweighted
College: University of Southern California
Major: Biochemistry
Keena Yin
Hometown: Great Neck
School: Great Neck South High School
Scholarship: College-sponsored scholarship
GPA: 94.0 unweighted
College: Emory University
Major: Biophysics
Jenna Chin
Hometown: Roslyn
School: Herricks High School
Scholarship: College-sponsored scholarship
GPA: 4.04 weighted
College: Northeastern University
Major: Communications
Jack Hoffman
Hometown: Hewlett
School: George W. Hewlett High School
Scholarship: College-sponsored scholarship
GPA: 103.17 weighted
College: Northeastern University
Major: Business
Sarah Choi
Hometown: Hickville
School: Hicksville High School
Scholarship: College-sponsored scholarship
GPA: 100.9 weighted; 96.48 unweighted
College: Boston University
Major: Undecided
Paul Bartolemea
Hometown: Baldwin Harbor
School: Kellenberg Memorial High School
Scholarship: College-sponsored scholarship
GPA: 98.1% (Four year unweighted cumulative)
College: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Major: Aerospace Engineering
Alp Turgut
Hometown: Westbury
School: Jericho High School
Scholarship: College-sponsored scholarship
GPA: 4.0 unweighted
College: University of Alabama
Major: 7 Year Early Medical School Acceptance Program
Dohyeon Park
Hometown: Manhasset
School: Manhasset Secondary School
Scholarship: College-sponsored scholarship
GPA: 4.03 weighted
College: Vanderbilt University
Major: Education
Jack Chillemi
Hometown: Massapequa
School: Massapequa High School
Scholarship: College-sponsored scholarship
PA: 98.7 weighted
College: University of Florida
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Gisele Lachman
Hometown: Oyster Bay
School: Oyster Bay High School
Scholarship: College-sponsored scholarship
GPA: 109.91 weighted
College: University of Chicago
Major: Business
Cameron Robinson
Hometown: Plainview
School: Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK High School
Scholarship: College-sponsored scholarship
GPA: 99.6963 weighted
College: Rochester Institute of Technology
Major: Software Engineering
Noah Sollinger
Hometown: Port Washington
School: Paul D. Schreiber High School
Scholarship: College-sponsored scholarship
GPA: 4.49 GPA weighted
College: University of Southern California
Major: Undecided
Ritvik Chilakamarthy
Hometown: Nesconset
School: Smithtown High School East
Scholarship: College-sponsored scholarship
GPA: 4.41 weighted
College: Georgia Institute of Technology
Major: Computer Science
Brendan Dervan
Hometown: Nissequogue
School: Smithtown High School East
Scholarship: College-sponsored scholarship
GPA: 4.56 weighted
College: Northeastern University
Major: Mathematics
Jake Butkevich
Hometown: East Setauket
School: Ward Melville High School
Scholarship: College-sponsored scholarship
GPA: 94.28 Weighted
College: Rennselaer
Major: Aeronautical Engineering
Benjamin Templeton
Hometown: East Setauket
School: Ward Melville High School
Scholarship: College-sponsored scholarship
GPA: 99.88 weighted
College: Northeastern University
Major: Computer Science and Political Science
Jackson DeMasi
Hometown: Shirley
School: Homeschooled
Scholarship: College-sponsored scholarship
Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.
