The faculty and staff of Pleasant Valley Community High School are pleased to announce that the following seniors were recently honored as National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists in the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program: Corinne Johnson, daughter of David and Christine Johnson of Bettendorf, Beatrice Sears, daughter of Stephen and Beatrice Sears of Davenport, Lillian Teitle, daughter of Justin and Kristine Teitle of Bettendorf, Kavya Kalathur, daughter of Rajesh and Subha Kalathur of Bettendorf, Jayne Abraham, daughter of Sunday and Elena Abraham of Bettendorf, Lauren Anderson, daughter of Kirk and Catherine Anderson of Bettendorf, Matthew Bender, son of Casey McManus and Paul Bender of Bettendorf, David Scranton, son of Paul and Emily Scranton of Bettendorf, Carter Dougherty, son of Michael and Margaret Dougherty of Bettendorf, Rithvik Vanga, son of Shyamsunder Vanga and Samantha Boda of Bettendorf, Bryan Caraman, son of Iurie and Angela Caraman of Bettendorf, Isaiah Pielak, son of Chase and Jennifer Pielak of Bettendorf, Salar Cheema, son of Ahmad and Tabinda Cheema of Davenport, and Tarun Annavajjula, son of Muralidhar and Aruna Annavajjula of Bettendorf
To become a Finalist, the Semifinalist and his or her high school 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® scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on qualifying test.
From 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. All National Merit Scholarship winners will be selected from this Finalist group. Merit Scholar designees are selected on the basis of their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies, without regard to gender, race, ethnic origin, or religious preference.
Merit Scholarship winners of 2022 will be announced in four nationwide news releases beginning in April and concluding in July. These scholarship recipients will join some 362,000 other distinguished young people who have earned the Merit Scholar title.