May 20, 2024

Twelve students from Horry County Schools are among the winners of the The National Merit Scholarship, and they are:

• Isabella Markunas - Academy for the Arts, Science & Technology and Carolina Forest High School
• Shantanu Chakraborty - Carolina Forest High School
• Joe Bornfreund, Morgan Freiler, Aydan Hayes, Emilia Mendoza, Alli Satterfield, Brea Stone, Trent Toole, Makaila Tucker, and Andy Xu - HCS Scholars Academy High School
• Jason Costanzo - St. James High School

These scholars were selected based on a substantial amount of information submitted by both the Finalists and their high schools: the academic record, including difficulty level of subjects studied and grades earned; scores from the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®); contributions and leadership in school and community activities; an essay written by the Finalist; and a recommendation written by a high school official. 

These twelve National Merit Scholarship winners were included in one of four nationwide news releases, the last of which will be released in July. These scholarship recipients will join the ranks of over 350,000 distinguished young people who have earned the Merit Scholar title over the years.