Amador Valley is proud to announce that four students have won the prestigious National Merit Scholarship. Having such a high number of students succeed in winning the scholarship not only shows the hardworking spirit of Dons, but also the success of Amador.

Every year, fifteen thousand students out of over a million compete in order to achieve national merit. Those who win are those judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments and academic skill, and there are only a few winners in each state, based on test scores on the PSAT, grades throughout high school, and a final self-reflective essay.

The national merit scholarship is a scholarship holds extreme sway in college credit. It is achieved through a multi-step process of getting high scores on the PSAT, moving up through several competitions and tests until they are able to get the scholarship itself.

“Getting to where I am now took a lot of hard work, especially since the scholarship is based off your work all throughout high school,” said Rhea Shah (’19), one of the winning finalists, “The scholarship…will serve as a reminder that working hard pays off in the end and that you will get the results you are hoping for if you don’t give up.”

Rhea Shaw (’19), along with Esha Chawla (’19), Quincy L. Kumfert (’19), and Justin Y. Shih (’19) won the national Merit Scholarship for Amador.

“Finding out was a really proud moment for me and made me realize how worth it my hard work was,” said Shah.

The National Merit Scholarship is used for undergraduate colleges and universities. Amador is proud to have such a prestigious award given to four hardworking students.