Fort Bend ISD Shines Nationally with 14 Students Awarded College-Sponsored Merit Scholarships

Fourteen Fort Bend ISD students were named winners of National Merit® Scholarships financed by U.S. colleges and universities, bringing the district’s total number of 2025 National Merit Scholarship winners to 34, so far.

Winners include:

• Nathaniel P. Chacko, Ridge Point High School, Texas A&M University Scholarship recipient; Probable career field: Chemical Engineering
• Helen W. Mao, Elkins High School, Texas A&M University Scholarship recipient; Probable career field: Business Administration
• Simon R. O’Brien, Travis High School, Texas A&M University Scholarship recipient; Probable career field: Engineering
• Krish C. Patel, Austin High School, University of Houston Scholarship recipient; Probable career field: Medicine
• Myriam S. Acton, Clements High School, Texas A&M University Scholarship recipient; Probable career field: Medicine
• Cameron A. Berg, Clements High School, Texas A&M University Scholarship recipient; Probable career field: Engineering
• Kyle S. Dong, Clements High School, Texas A&M University Scholarship recipient; Probable career field: Engineering
• Allen Jacob, Dulles High School, University of Houston Scholarship recipient; Probable career field: Medicine
• Benjamin Z. Li, Dulles High School, Texas A&M University Scholarship recipient; Probable career field: Video Game Design
• Vedant M. Patil, Elkins High School, University of Texas at Dallas Scholarship recipient; Probable career field: Medicine
• Aryan P. Shah, Clements High School, Texas A&M University Scholarship recipient; Probable career field: Medicine
• Allen Peilun Sun, Clements High School, Texas A&M University Scholarship recipient; Probable career field: Computer Engineering
• Grace S. Trinh, Clements High School, Texas A&M University Scholarship recipient; Probable career field: Engineering
• Karen F. Wei, Clements High School, University of Houston Scholarship recipient; Probable career field: Public Policy

Officials from each sponsor college selected their scholarship winners from among the finalists in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program who plan to attend their institution. These awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship.

This announcement marks the third round of winners in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program. Earlier this spring, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced winners of corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards and National Merit $2500 Scholarships. Four FBISD students were awarded corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarships in April, and 16 students received $2,500 scholarships sponsored by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

An additional group of college-sponsored award recipients will be announced July 14.

About the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Competition

High school juniors entered the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program when they took the 2023 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®). This served as the initial screening.

In September 2023, more than 16,000 semifinalists who were identified as the highest scorers were designated from across the nation. They make up less than one percent of all senior high school students in the country.

To become a National Merit Scholarship winner, semifinalists had to complete a detailed application, which included writing an essay, plus providing information about their extracurricular activities, awards, and leadership positions. Semifinalists also had to be recommended by a high school official and earn SAT® or ACT® scores that confirmed their high performance on the qualifying test. www.nationalmerit.org