This year, 32 students from Johnson County won prestigious National Merit scholarships.
Earlier this week, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced the names of scholars who have been awarded college-sponsored National Merit scholarships.
Students earn these award based on several factors, including grades, course level difficulty, and scores on college entrance exams or the National Merit Qualifying Test, according to a news release.
Blue Valley had the most scholarship recipients in Kansas
In Johnson County, 13 students from Blue Valley Schools, six students from Olathe Public Schools, four students from the Shawnee Mission School District and one student from Spring Hill Schools won the prestigious award.
An honoree and graduate of Blue Valley High, Trisha Rastogi said her school helped her a lot in reaching her academic goals, offering a wide variety of classes and opportunities to get involved.
“I’m immensely grateful for all [Blue Valley High’s] support,” Rastogi said. “I know their students in the future will continue to be inspired by them like I was.”
Rastogi won the National Merit W. Harold Otto Scholarship and plans to attend the University of Kansas to pursue medicine in the fall.
Each student wins $500-$2,500
The winners were chosen from a group of 15,000 talented students.
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation and its corporate sponsors fund the scholarships. Students can use them at any regionally accredited college or university across the country.
By the end of the 2025 competition, more than 6,930 students will win National Merit Scholarships worth approximately $26 million, according to a news release.
The announcement is the third this year, following the announcement of recipients of corporate-sponsored awards in April and winners of National Merit $2500 Scholarships last month, according to a news release.
An additional group of scholars will be announced in July, bringing the total number of college-sponsored Merit Scholarship recipients to more than 3,600 in 2025.
Below is the full list of this year’s scholarship winners from Johnson County.
Blue Valley Schools
Blue Valley High
- Russell Franklin of Overland Park, attending the University of Tulsa to study medicine
- Audrey Marie Golian of Leawood, attending Creighton University to study medicine
- Trisha Rastogi of Overland Park, attending the University of Kansas to study medicine
- Mingxuan Michael Yue of Overland Park, attending Texas A&M University to study engineering
Blue Valley North High
- Nathan Roelofs of Overland Park, attending the University of Minnesota to study computer science
- Athan Tran of Leawood, attending Texas A&M University to study electrical engineering
Blue Valley Northwest High
- Alyssa Chowdhury of Overland Park, attending the University of Kansas to study cardiology
- Gracie R. Cowman of Paola, attending the University of Tulsa to study mathematics
- Aditya R. Parikh of Overland Park, attending the University of Tulsa to study medicine
- Vincent R. Zheng of Overland Park, attending the University of Minnesota to study business management
Blue Valley Southwest High
- Madeline Rose Heinen of Overland Park, attending the University of South Florida to study civil engineering
Blue Valley West High
- Sathvik Maharshi Seema of Overland Park, attending Purdue University to study computer science
- Akshay Nair of Overland Park, attending Purdue University to study aerospace engineering
Olathe Public Schools
Olathe East High
- Wesley D. Janssen of Olathe, attending Kansas State University to study mechanical engineering
Olathe Northwest High
- Micah R. Augustine of Olathe, attending Texas A&M University to study engineering
- Ava Evans of Olathe, attending the University of Nebraska to study digital art
- Alexander J. Pannier of Overland Park, attending the University of Kansas to study chemical engineering
Olathe South High
- Cody B. Schwindt of Olathe, attending the University of Texas at Dallas to study computer engineering
Olathe West High
- Aidric Smith of Olathe, attending Oklahoma State University to study neuroscience
Shawnee Mission School District
Shawnee Mission East High
- Emma L. Culp of Praire Village, attending the University of Oklahoma to study biomedical engineering
Shawnee Mission Northwest High
- Mia Deeble of Lenexa, attending the University of Alabama to study mechanical engineering
Shawnee Mission South High
- Anne Hance of Leawood, attending the University of Kansas to study accounting
Shawnee Mission West High
- Lachlan H. Smith of Lenexa, attending Washington and Lee University to study economics
Spring Hill Schools
Spring Hill High
- Henry Seitz of Spring Hill, attending the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to study neuroscience
JoCo students from private schools
Maranatha Christian Academy
- Ava Oglesby of Shawnee, attending the University of Alabama to study medicine
Pembroke Hill School
- Austin N. Soulis of Leawood, attending Purdue University to study engineering
- Riya N. Raj of Mission Hills, attending the University of Southern California to study applied mathematics
- Yelisey Romanov of Fairway, attending Texas A&M to study mechanical engineering
Rockhurst High
- John G. Skoch of Overland Park, attending the University of Alabama to study mechanical engineering
- Knox William Nail of Prairie Village, attending Vanderbilt University to study diplomatic service
- Aldric R. Yang of Shawnee, attending Texas A&M University to study computer science
St. James Academy
- William Book of Shawnee, attending Kansas State University to study engineering
