Best in Class: Milpitas High School’s 9 National Merit Scholar Semifinalists for 2024-25

Nine Milpitas High School students were recently selected as Semifinalists in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program. They are among more than 16,000 students nationwide in the 70th annual NMSP to earn the designation based on results from the Preliminary SAT exam. In February, these 9 students will be notified if they have advanced to Finalist standing, which then qualifies them for 6,870 scholarships worth nearly $26 million.

Let’s find out a little about each of them:
Jericho de Guzman, age 17
What does being named a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist mean to you?
Being named a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist means that I'm not a complete failure! It proves to myself that I have the capacity to do and achieve great things in life, as long as I put in the necessary time and effort. It motivates me to pursue even greater endeavors in the future, through college and beyond.

What / Who motivates you to succeed at such a high level?
My greatest motivation comes from the drive to constantly push myself to do my very best in whatever challenges I face. I also derive a lot of motivation from the support and encouragement (as well as competition) I receive from my family and friends. 

What is your favorite subject in school, and why?
My favorite subject in school is calculus. Calculus is a complex yet intuitive subject, which—much like other STEM topics—has a certain degree of beauty to it once you truly understand it. Learning the fundamentals of calculus, its numerous applications, and how they all interact with each other in a cohesive fashion is incredibly rewarding.

What college would you like to attend after graduating MHS, and why?
I'd like to attend one of the UCs, since they are all very reputable schools and are pretty close by. My goal would be UC Irvine, since I've heard the campus is very nice (though of course the dream is UC Berkeley)

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Leslie Dong, age 17
What does being named a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist mean to you?
To me, being named a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist means I'm uncommonly good at answering questions on an easier version of the SAT. If only that was a career option.

What / Who motivates you to succeed at such a high level?
Given the amount of practice ACTs my mother made me do, it would be strange if I didn't succeed at such a high level.

What is your favorite subject in school, and why?
Art. It's my favorite thing to do and my one defining trait.

What college would you like to attend after graduating MHS, and why?
​CMU! It's super pretty and great for art and design!

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Aditi Gupta, age 17
What does being named a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist mean to you?
It's definitely rewarding, but I also recognize that this is just one test score that ultimately has little bearing on my potential or my character.

What / Who motivates you to succeed at such a high level?
I just want to try everything I can before graduation and adult life hits.

What is your favorite subject in school, and why?
 I like all sciences, especially environmental science and chemistry. That being said, my favorite period is my senior open.

What college would you like to attend after graduating MHS, and why?
My dream school is UC Berkeley because of its proximity! Also, a lot of my friends go there.

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Ananya Gupta, age 17
What does being named a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist mean to you?
Being a National Merit semi-finalist means a few more possibilities have really opened up for me, and I’m honored to have that opportunity.

What / Who motivates you to succeed at such a high level?
My graduated friends, parents, and twin sister motivate me to succeed and try my best. 

What is your favorite subject in school, and why?
I really like physics! I like learning about why things work the way they do. I discovered my love for physics through competing in Science Olympiad. 

What college would you like to attend after graduating MHS, and why?
​I’d like to attend a UC/CSU because they all have good Electrical Engineering programs (and are in California). I’d also love to attend USC, because I can do a minor in music there.

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Kyle Le, age 17
What does being named a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist mean to you?
​I didn't expect to be a semifinalist. I took the PSAT because my friends told me to, and I thought it'd be interesting. Being a semifinalist is a different thing, though. It's a bit stressful at the moment, but that's temporary, and I have something else to report to colleges.

What / Who motivates you to succeed at such a high level?
I'd say two things motivate me the most. My parents, of course, are the biggest source of motivation. Without them, I probably would've given up a long time ago. The second thing is a healthy amount of competition.

What is your favorite subject in school, and why?
Math is my favorite. I'm not entirely sure why, either. I find it really easy most of the time (except Precalc Honors) and it's honestly just enjoyable.

​What college would you like to attend after graduating MHS, and why?
I'm planning on going to a UC or CSU. Some of them offer the degrees that I want to pursue and they don't need full college essays.

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Oliver Ma, age 17
What does being named a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist mean to you?
For me, being named a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist represents a culmination of all the effort I have put into my academic journey throughout my life and the commitment to academic growth I have maintained, and I am truly grateful to everyone who has helped me reach this milestone.

What / Who motivates you to succeed at such a high level?
My parents, who are first-generation immigrants and had to build a new life here from scratch, are my greatest inspirations to persevere in pursuing academic success. I also owe my academic passions that motivate my learning to the many teachers who sparked my interest in various subjects through their teaching.

What is your favorite subject in school, and why?
My favorite subject is physics, because of how it deals with the nature of the world in ways that we experience daily. By analyzing phenomena that we just accept as a fact of life, like how objects fall to the ground, we can discover the way the entire universe works.

​What college would you like to attend after graduating MHS, and why?
After graduating MHS, I hope to attend Cornell University because of its strong reputation for research and the diverse research opportunities it offers, as well as the ability to explore interdisciplinary collaborations, giving me the chance to apply the concepts I will learn throughout different classes and subjects.

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Lakshya Mehta, age 17
What does being named a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist mean to you?
It means that the hard work I put in these past 4 years have been recognized, and gave me new motivation to continue striving for achievement.

What / Who motivates you to succeed at such a high level?
My biggest source of motivation is probably my inherent desire for self-improvement, and the dopamine hit I get when I’m seeing myself get better at something, which just makes me want to do it more. Well, that and support from my parents.

What is your favorite subject in school, and why?
It would have to be either math or physics. Math has always been pretty easy for me to understand, but physics, although much harder for me to grasp, fascinates me because we can use it to not just understand our world but create so many useful and revolutionary things.

​What college would you like to attend after graduating MHS, and why?
I’d prefer to stay in California to make it easier to be with friends and family, so probably one of the UCs or CSUs, but I’d be willing to go out of state if I feel like the college is worth it.

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William Mito, age 16
What does being named a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist mean to you?
It's pretty cool I guess, since I can put it on my college application.

What / Who motivates you to succeed at such a high level?
My math teachers, my parents, and the spirit of competition.

What is your favorite subject in school, and why?
I like math because the teachers are chill. I also like solving things.

What college would you like to attend after graduating MHS, and why?
Any UC or CSU, or whatever college accepts me. I don't really have any college aspirations.

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Daniel Xu, age 17
What does being named a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist mean to you?
Being named a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist not only feels like a quantification of all my hard work over the last few years, but also motivates me to continue to work hard in the future, throughout the rest of high school and beyond.

What / Who motivates you to succeed at such a high level?
It's mainly my peers that motivate me to succeed at such a high level, as our senior class has no shortage of amazing, intelligent people that always push each other to do their best in things. The healthy competition among us encourages me to do as well as I can in all aspects of my schooling.

What is your favorite subject in school, and why?
My favorite subject has to be math. A little guy you may have heard of named Galileo Galilei once said "mathematics is the language with which God has written the universe." I wholeheartedly agree with this. Not only can mathematics be applied to many different fields and other subjects, it's also the subject that I believe is the most naturally elegant in the way that problems are done with it.

​What college would you like to attend after graduating MHS, and why?
I'd like to stay in-state, if possible. Thankfully there is no shortage of great colleges in California, and I'd love to go to one of the UC's or some of the CSU's. Cal or UCSD would be great, but every single one of the UC's is good in my book.

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