Ossining High School senior Pujita Sunder received a National Merit Scholarship award on April 22.
She was one of about 1,000 distinguished high school seniors who received corporate-sponsored scholarships in the first round of the 65th annual National Merit Scholarship Program awards.
Most of the scholarships are renewable for up to four years of undergraduate study at an accredited college and provide annual stipends ranging from $1,000 to $10,000. Some provide a single payment between $2,500 and $5,000.
More than 1.5 million high school juniors entered the competition by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test in 2018. Last September, the National Merit Scholarship Corp. named Pujita as one of about 16,000 semifinalists – less than 1 percent of high school seniors. She advanced to the finalist level earlier this year.
The scholarship organization awards about 7,600 scholarships worth more than $30 million each year.
Pujita is in the Science Research Program at OHS and is active in clubs and community activities. She is a member of the Book Club, the National Honor Society and the National Art Honor Society, as well as a peer tutor. She has taught English conversation and a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) program at the Ossining Public Library.
(Photo: Pujita Sunder)
