Nierman a National Merit Scholarship finalist

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Evan Nierman, a senior at Palmyra High School has been selected as a finalist for the prestigious National Merit Scholarship.

Scholarship winners will be announced starting in April. 

Nierman, the son of Scott Nierman, a production manager at the BASF Hannibal Plant, and  Dawn Nierman, a Palmyra kindergarten teacher, plans to study zoology following graduation from Palmyra High School in May.

He is a member of the Palmyra FFA and is busy preparing for horticulture team competition.

He is also a member of the school’s Quiz Bowl and Science Olympiad teams, while a member of the National Honor Society.

Nierman is the first PHS student since Audrey Fohey, a 2019 graduate, to be a National Merit Scholarship semifinalist.

Nierman now has an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $30 million that will be offered next spring. 

To be considered for a Merit Scholarship® award, semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the finalist level of the competition. 

About 95 percent of the semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing, and approximately half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar® title. 

NMSC, a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance, was established in 1955 specifically to conduct the annual National Merit Scholarship Program. 

Scholarships are underwritten by NMSC with its own funds and by approximately 400 business organizations and higher education institutions that share NMSC’s goals of honoring the nation’s scholastic champions and encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence.

To become a finalist, the semifinalist and a high school official 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® or ACT® scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test.

Approximately 15,000 finalists were selected from the approximately 16,000 semifinalists. 

All National Merit Scholarship winners will be selected from this group of finalists. 

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. 

Three types of National Merit Scholarships will be offered in the spring of 2022. Every finalist will compete for one of 2,500 National Merit® $2500 Scholarships that will be awarded on a state-representational basis. 

About 1,000 corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards will be provided by approximately 220 corporations and business organizations for finalists who meet their specified criteria, such as children of the grantor’s employees or residents of communities where sponsor plants or offices are located. 

In addition, about 180 colleges and universities are expected to finance some 4,000 college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards for finalists who will attend the sponsor institution. 

National 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 more than 362,000 other distinguished young people who have earned the Merit Scholar title.