Six Northwest ISD students named National Merit Semifinalists

Top row (L-R): Matthew Bufkin, Caleb Grijalva, Giovanni Hanna - Bottom row (L-R): Steven Martini, Zach Pospisil, Rix White

Northwest ISD is proud to recognize six members of the Class of 2025 who have been named National Merit Semifinalists by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 6,870 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $26 million that will be offered next spring.

Northwest ISD National Merit Semifinalists
Matthew Bufkin, Eaton High School
Caleb Grijalva, Eaton High School
Giovanni Hanna, Eaton High School
Steven Martini, Byron Nelson High School
Zach Pospisil, Eaton High School
Rix White, Byron Nelson High School

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.

Over 1.5 million students in about 21,000 high schools entered the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2023 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. The number of Semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.

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.

Those that advance to the Finalist level will be notified of this designation in February. All National Merit Scholarship winners will be selected from this group of Finalists. National Merit Scholarship winners of 2025 will be announced in four nationwide news releases beginning in April and concluding in July. 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.