Countywide : 19 Local Seniors Are Merit Semifinalists

Nineteen Orange County students are among winners in the first round of this year’s National Merit Scholarship competition, the scholarship organization announced this week.

The high school seniors are among 15,000 selected as national semifinalists based on their scores on the 1994 Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test. California has 94 recipients.

Of the semifinalists chosen in the first round of the annual competition, 1,100 will receive scholarships sponsored by corporations and business organizations.

In Orange County, the first-round winners are Eugene Chung, Troy High, Fullerton; Grace Lee, Canyon High, Anaheim; Mark Vikner, Capistrano Valley High, Mission Viejo; Stephanie Hu, Fountain Valley High; Hien Nguyen, Fountain Valley High; and Stephen Patel, Sunny Hills High, Fullerton.

Others are Aaron Cooley, Pacifica High, Garden Grove; Nicole Dubuc, Cornelia Connelly School, Anaheim; Kathryn Streeter, Woodbridge High, Irvine; Christina Lee, Sunny Hills High, Fullerton; Deborah Mundis, Laguna Hills High; Kamran Vakili, Capistrano Valley High, Mission Viejo; and Tracy Yamamoto, El Toro High, Lake Forest.

Also honored are Elaine Chyo of Los Alamitos, Long Beach Polytechnic High; Danielle Zilliox, Los Alamitos High; Kai Miller, University High, Irvine; Robert Chiu, Sunny Hills High, Fullerton; Carl Grimm, El Dorado High, Placentia; and Rachi Shih, Sunny Hills High, Fullerton.

Winners in the second and third rounds of the competition will be announced later this spring.