Kalispell students win National Merit Scholarships

Two Kalispell students are recipients of $2,500 National Merit Scholarships based on their academic accomplishments, skills and potential to be successful in rigorous college studies. 

They are Glacier High School’s Sam Engellant and Stillwater Christian School’s Carson Miller. Engellant plans to pursue a career in mechanical engineering and Miller in physics. 

Engellant and Miller are among seven Montana students to receive scholarships, and 2,500 nationwide, who were selected from a pool of more than 15,000 finalists. The number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the nation’s graduating high school seniors, according to a National Merit Scholarship Corporation press release.   

The National Merit Scholars were selected by a committee of college admissions officers  and high school counselors, who appraised a substantial amount of information submitted by both student finalists and their high schools including, academic records (difficulty level of subjects studied and grades earned); contributions and leadership in school and community activities; student essays; and a recommendation written by a high school official.  

Students entered the program as high school juniors by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test in 2023, which served as an initial screen. Last fall, the highest-scoring participants in each state advanced as semifinalists. More than 16,000 semifinalists had the opportunity to continue in the competition.  

From the semifinalist group, more than 15,000 students met program standards to advance to the finalist level.  

The National Merit program also awards corporate-sponsored scholarships to finalists who are children of their employees, residents of communities the company serves, or who plan to pursue college majors or careers the sponsor wishes to encourage, according to a press release.  

National Merit finalist, Jack Syverson of Glacier High School, was awarded the James E. Casey Scholarship for children of UPS employees, which is funded by the UPS Foundation.