The Virginian-Pilot 
                             THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Friday, September 22, 1995             TAG: 9509200157
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS      PAGE: 11   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   47 lines

STUDENTS MOVE CLOSER TO MERIT SCHOLARSHIP

About 15,000 high school seniors across the country have cleared the first hurdle in the National Merit Scholarship Program - they have been named semifinalists. These young people will now go on to compete for 6,900 Merit Scholarships worth a total of $26 million to be awarded next spring.

More than a million juniors entered the program when they took the 1994 Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test. The highest scorers in each state were designated semifinalists. To decide the finalists, students will be evaluated on their academic records, endorsements and recommendations by their high school principals, and Scholastic Aptitude Test scores.

Finalists become eligible for three types of scholarship, 2,000 National Merit awards of $2,000; 1,100 scholarships from corporations, foundations and organizations; and 3,800 awards from colleges and universities. Winners will be announced beginning in April.

Local semifinalists include the following students:

CHESAPEAKE

Western Branch High School: Carly N. Van Orman

NORFOLK

Granby High School: Vaughn E. Bell

Maury High School: Megan B. Viccellio

Norfolk Academy: John M. Burkhardt, Ramin Fatehi, Brian S. Jones, Joseph P. Kaneko, Kevin C. McCloskey, Andrew A. McKnight, Joshua S. Pal, Ellsworth D. Walker, Garrett L. Weinberg, David S. Weissberger, Dana L. Willner

Norfolk Collegiate School: Ranjit K. Goudar

SUFFOLK

Lakeland High School: David E. Arthur

VIRGINIA BEACH

Princess Anne High School: Brandi W. Flannery, Bethany Wright

Catholic High School: Geoffrey M. Buescher

Cox High School: Robin K. Dwyer, Michael A. Edmonston, Jason A. Gustafson, Christopher M. Imrich, Porter H. Mason, Maureen E. Thorson

First Colonial High School: Carrie R. Ansell

Kellam High School: Steven L. Tipton

Kempsville High School: Donald S. Christman, Kari L. Wilson

KEYWORDS: MERIT SCHOLARSHIP by CNB