Christopher Cooley of South River High School and Eric Zhao of Meade High School are the most recent county seniors to earn scholarships through the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. The two are among approximately 7,500 talented students from across the country who won scholarships totaling more than $33 million this year.
The corporate-sponsored awards range from $500 to $10,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study. Cooley’s award is sponsored by the estate of Mary E. Beyerle. He plans to study linguistics in college. Zhao earned a Northrop-Grumman scholarship to pursue a degree in intellectual property law.
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation will name more scholarship winners throughout the spring and early summer.