Eight Milpitas High School students selected as National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists

Eight Milpitas High School students were recently selected as Semifinalists in the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program. They are among about 16,000 students nationwide to earn the designation based on results from the Preliminary SAT exam. In February, these eight students will be notified if they have advanced to Finalist standing, which then qualifies them for thousands of dollars in college scholarship monies.
Let’s find out a little about each one:

Charles Snead, age 17
What does being named a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist mean to you?
Being a semifinalist acknowledges my preparedness for college.


What / Who motivates you to succeed at such a high level?
Myself and my parents are always encouraging me to do the best I can.


What is your favorite subject in school, and why?  
My favorite subject is foreign language because I like learning new vocabulary and grammar and being able to communicate with a larger population of people.


What college would you like to attend after graduating MHS, and why?
I would like to go to one of the top UC campuses.


Tran Le, age 16 
What does being named a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist mean to you?
Having the honor of being a National Merit Semifinalist is a celebration of my academic achievements in the past few years of high school at MHS. 


What / Who motivates you to succeed at such a high level?
My family, teachers, and community are my biggest supporters and motivators. 


What is your favorite subject in school, and why?  
My interest lies within STEM subjects, and I especially love chemistry and math. 


What college would you like to attend after graduating MHS, and why?
I am currently considering a broad range of colleges from UCs to CSUs to private colleges in and out of state as I know that I will receive a great education and experience at many of the amazing schools. 


Alden Lau, age 17
 What does being named a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist mean to you?
Being named a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist feels great since I've made my family proud. It really makes me feel like my efforts in school and studying are helping me succeed. 
 
What / Who motivates you to succeed at such a high level?
I am motivated by my family and my own drive to do the best I can in school. 
 
What is your favorite subject in school, and why?  
My favorite subject is math because I enjoy manipulating numbers and figuring out how to solve difficult problems. I also enjoy learning about the many applications of math in life.
 
What college would you like to attend after graduating MHS, and why?
I want to attend U.C. Berkeley, since it is a great school and my dad went there. Also, it is nearby, so I can easily visit friends and family.
 

Dania Kirmani, age 17
What does being named a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist mean to you?
There were plenty of moments throughout high school when I felt like I wasn't really getting much out of my late nights studying, so it feels nice to have something to show for all of that time and effort. 

What / Who motivates you to succeed at such a high level?
My parents have always made an effort to drop me off for my early morning tests and classes and to stay and watch my late night performances. Anytime I feel like giving up, I remind myself of all of the time and effort they spent to ensure my success in the future. 

What is your favorite subject in school, and why?  
I find most life sciences very fascinating, but I really love environmental science and marine biology. Learning about the way nature has perfected interactions between different organisms through billions of years of evolution is something that never gets old to me. 

What college would you like to attend after graduating MHS, and why?
I'm honestly fine with attending any college after graduating. I feel like it shouldn't be the college that defines a student, it should be their own hard work and achievements. 

 
Vanessa Cho, age 17 
What does being named a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist mean to you?
Being a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist is honestly kind of amazing. I mean I definitely hoped that I would get to be a semifinalist, but I never really expected it to happen. When I was an underclassman, I felt like all the people who were named semifinalists all seemed so cool and accomplished, and now I'm the one being recognized.
 
What / Who motivates you to succeed at such a high level?
I always thought that I was pushing myself to be as accomplished as my overachieving older brother, but then I realized that I want to do well for myself. I want to see what I am capable of and to find my limits, so I always try to push myself past my comfort zones.
 
What is your favorite subject in school, and why?  
My favorite class in school is band. Band is love, band is life. Honestly though, I like band because it's a break from all of my other academic classes where we can just sit and play music without having to worry about tests or homework.
 
What college would you like to attend after graduating MHS, and why?
I try not to get too emotionally attached to any one college because if I get rejected, it'll hurt less. However, there is a college that I have become interested in, which is UCLA. Besides it being a top college, UCLA is located just far away enough from Milpitas but still close enough that I can come home if I want to. I also just want to experience living in a large city like LA.

 
Melanie Lin, 17 
What does being named a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist mean to you?
To be completely honest, being named National Merit Scholar Semifinalist doesn’t mean much to me. It hasn’t influenced or impacted me in any way. Since I don’t see SAT as a genuine test of academic ability, being recognized for doing well on the PSAT really doesn’t mean much to me other than recognize the fact that I have become fully familiar with how to take the standardized test. 
 
What / Who motivates you to succeed at such a high level?
I personally love academics (especially STEM) and being able to do well in it is a blessing because it’s definitely motivated me to continue to excel in those subjects. However, I do owe an awful lot to my family, especially my parents since they have gone above and beyond to make sure that I can have and lead an amazing life and they continue to motivate me to do well and succeed.
 
What is your favorite subject in school, and why? 
My favorite subject in school so far has been chemistry because I do actually find the classes fun. The connection between what physically happens and the concepts and calculations that explain/correspond to them is really amazing and interesting to me. 
 
What college would you like to attend after graduating MHS, and why?
My dream college has always been UCLA because I wanted to stay in California and SoCal is perfect for being JUST the right amount of distance from home. UCLA is also very well-known for their pre-medical program (which I plan to apply for).

 
Neval Mulaomerovic, age 17
 What does being named a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist mean to you?
To me, being a National Merit Semifinalist means that I represent the top of high school test takers in the country. Though, it is important to acknowledge that the SAT and PSAT are not the only measures of academic success that play a role. 
 
What / Who motivates you to succeed at such a high level?
My parents motivate me to succeed at a higher level because their commitment to promoting my education in high school and beyond means a lot to me.
 
What is your favorite subject in school, and why? 
My favorite subject in school is English because it allows room for interpretation and nuanced analysis, rather than just providing a simple correct or incorrect answer.
 
What college would you like to attend after graduating MHS, and why?
I would like to attend Georgetown University. Being interested in political science, I would like to study in the center of our nation's government and be taught by leading experts in that field. 
 
 
Ayushi Malhotra,  age 16 
What does being named a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist mean to you?  
To me, being a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist means more than just being entered into the scholarship competition. It is an achievement that I am very proud of because it is a testament of how hard I’ve worked over the past few years.  
 
What / Who motivates you to succeed at such a high level?
My family emigrated to the U.S. when I was 2 years old and my parents have been through a lot to get us where we are now. I’m very proud of them and hope to make them proud as well. I have high expectations for myself and many goals I’d like to achieve: going to college, getting an MBA, living in NYC, and being truly happy. The yearning I have to achieve these goals amalgamate with my hopes to make my family proud and drive me to succeed in each endeavor. 
 
What is your favorite subject in school, and why?  
My favorite subject usually switches between history and math. For this school year, my favorite classes are AP Statistics and AP Calculus AB. I enjoy these classes because the subject itself is fun and I am fortunate enough to have amazing, passionate teachers.   
 
What college would you like to attend after graduating MHS, and why?
I would like to attend a college that is a great fit for me. My top choices are UCs, Boston University, Purdue, UIUC, and USC. The academic culture, rich history, and overall environment at these schools speak to me and I would be honored to attend these institutions.