Scholars You May Know

John A. Swanson, 1957

American Bank Note Company Merit Scholarship

Mechanical engineer, founder of ANSYS, Inc., 2004 John Fritz Medal recipient, philanthropist

Elvin R. Bishop, 1960

A. O. Smith Merit Scholarship

Musician, rock and blues legend

Stephen J. DeCanio, 1960

National Merit Scholarship

Professor of Economics, Emeritus, University of California, Santa Barbara, shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize as part of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Joseph E. Stiglitz, 1960

Lilly Endowment Merit Scholarship

Professor of Economics at Columbia University, awarded the 2001 Nobel Prize in Economics, Former Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of the World Bank

Amory Bloch Lovins, 1964

National Merit Scholarship

Environmentalist and physicist, Chairman Emeritus and Chief Scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute, author, MacArthur Fellow

Robert B. Reich, 1964

National Merit Scholarship

Carmel P. Friesen Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley, former Secretary of Labor, author

Thomas R. Cech, 1966

National Merit Scholarship

Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Colorado, Boulder, awarded the 1989 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, former president of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Alexa I. Canady, 1967

FMC Achievement Scholarship

First African-American female neurosurgeon, former Chief of Neurosurgery at the Children's Hospital of Michigan

Mitchell Daniels, Jr., 1967

National Merit Scholarship

President of Purdue University, former Governor of Indiana

Roger Y. Tsien, 1968

National Merit Scholarship

Former Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, former Professor of Pharmacology and Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California-San Diego, awarded the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Jerry Greenfield, 1969

Bache Corporation Foundation Merit Scholarship

Co-founder, Ben & Jerry's, philanthropist

Merrick B. Garland, 1970

National Merit Scholarship

United States Attorney General, former Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

Paul R. Krugman, 1970

National Merit Scholarship

Distinguished Professor of Economics at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, Professor Emeritus at Princeton University, awarded the 2008 Nobel Prize in Economics, Author, OpEd Columnist for the New York Times

Ben S. Bernanke, 1971

National Merit Scholarship

Distinguished Senior Fellow with the Economic Studies program at the Brookings Institution; former Chairman, Federal Reserve

Evelynn M. Hammonds, 1971

National Achievement Scholarship

Former Dean of Harvard College, The Barbara Gutmann Rosenkrantz Professor of the History of Science and Professor of African and African-American Studies at Harvard University

Jeffrey D. Sachs, 1972

National Merit Scholarship

Economist, University Professor and Director, Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, Special Advisor to UN Secretary-General António Guterres

Steven A. Ballmer, 1973

National Merit Scholarship

Owner of the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association, former Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft Corporation 

William H. "Bill" Gates III, 1973

National Merit Scholarship

Former Chairman, Microsoft Corporation, co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, philanthropist

Jim Cramer, 1973

National Merit Scholarship

Host of CNBC's Mad Money, author, financial advisor

Mae Carol Jemison, 1973

Bell Telephone Laboratories Achievement Scholarship

Retired NASA astronaut, physician, first African-American woman in space

John G. Roberts, 1973

National Merit Scholarship

Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court

Elena Kagan, 1977

National Merit Scholarship

Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court

Lisa P. Jackson, 1979

Nabisco Achievement Scholarship

Vice President of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives for Apple, Inc. and former Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency

Benjamin Alvin Drew, 1980

National Achievement Scholarship

Colonel in the United States Air Force, Air Force pilot, NASA astronaut

Gabe L. Newell, 1980

National Merit Scholarship

Co-founder and President of Valve Corporation, developer behind popular game franchises like Half-Life and Portal

Lisa J. Randall, 1980

National Merit Scholarship

Frank B. Baird, Jr. Professor of Science at Harvard University, author

Susan E. Rice, 1982

National Achievement Scholarship

Director of the United States Domestic Policy Council, Distinguished visiting Research Fellow at American University's School of International Service, Former United States National Security Advisor and former U.S. Ambassador for the United Nations

Jeffrey P. Bezos, 1982

National Merit Scholarship

Founder and Executive Chairman, Amazon.com, owner of The Washington Post

Peter A. Thiel, 1985

National Merit Scholarship

Author, entrepreneur, co-founder of PayPal

Preetinder S. Bharara, 1986

National Merit Scholarship

Distinguished Scholar in Residence at New York University School of Law; CNN Senior Legal Analyst, former United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York

Linda D. Rottenberg, 1986

National Merit Scholarship

CEO and co-founder of Endeavor, entrepreneur, New York Times bestselling author

Manoj "M. Night" Shyamalan, 1988

New York University Merit Scholarship

Director, filmmaker, two-time Academy Award nominee, known for films such as The Sixth Sense and Signs

James Michael McCullers, 1989

BellSouth Merit Scholarship

Writer and director; co-wrote two Austin Powers films and wrote and directed the film Baby Mama

Melissa Harris-Perry, 1991

National Achievement Scholarship

Maya Angelou Presidential Chair in Politics and International Affairs at Wake Forest University, Host of WNYC's The Takeaway, former Editor-at-Large at Elle.com, author, former host of MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry show

Stephenie Meyer, 1992

Brigham Young University Merit Scholarship

Bestselling author of the Twilight series, film producer

Vivek H. Murthy, 1994

Nalco Chemical Company Merit Scholarship

21st and 19th United States Surgeon General, Vice Admiral of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.

Kathryn Felicia Day, 1995

University of Texas Merit Scholarship

Bestselling author and producer, writer, and lead actress of The Guild; appeared in House, Monk, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Supernatural, and Eureka, Founder of online media company Geek & Sundry

Terence S. Carter, 1997

National Achievement Scholarship

Co-President and Head of Television at Westbrook Studios, former Executive Vice President, Drama and Comedy Development for Twentieth Century Fox Television

Peter P. Buttigieg, 2000

National Merit $2000 Scholarship

United States Secretary of Transportation, former Mayor of South Bend, Indiana

Lauren A. Underwood, 2004

National Achievement Scholarship

United States Representative for Illinois's 14th Congressional District

Featured Scholars
Tianna N. Chemello
Tianna N. Chemello
“I look out onto the span of solar panels in the desert not too far from my home, and I feel less overwhelmed by the magnitude of the climate crises,” Tianna N. Chemello says when speaking of her motivation for pursuing a degree in environmental engineering. Tianna lists further inspirations, such as people who buy organic foods or plant bee-friendly flowers—“People like me,” she says, “attempting to save our planet.” 
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Reese D. Borlin
Reese D. Borlin
Scholar, Eagle Scout, Volunteer, Athlete—Reese D. Borlin hopes to eventually add “Park Ranger” to the list of titles he has earned so far. As a forestry major at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, Reese focuses his studies on forest recreation and park management, often venturing outside the classroom. In the past few years, Reese has visited 20 national parks and numerous state and national forests and recreational areas. He is pictured here near a frozen alpine lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. 
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Chixue (Sybil) Fu
Chixue (Sybil) Fu
As a student enrolled in Columbia College’s economics and political science program, Chixue (Sybil) Fu could look up to any number of prominent economists and politicians, but “I ultimately look up to my mother,” she says. Sybil explains that her mother is an immigrant and single parent who has worked as a janitor for the past 13 years and has “witnessed the discrimination imposed upon immigrants and experienced the economic struggles that ensue.” Sybil believes that she “would not have the same passion” for her studies had it not been for the inspiration from her mother.
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Molly K. Buffington
Molly K. Buffington
“Receiving the National Merit Scholarship was the reason I was able to attend college, period,” Molly K. Buffington emphasizes when explaining the impact that donations to NMSC could make on the lives of hard-working students. An alumna of the University of Alabama, Molly triple majored in history, German, and Latin. “I was able to attend college and not worry about my finances,” she says of her National Merit Program recognition, “which led to the opportunity to increase the breadth of my studies.”
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Rishiprotim Nag
Rishiprotim Nag
“Education is the best tool we have to inspire the younger generations,” Rishiprotim Nag asserts when considering the importance of NMSC’s mission. “Receiving the National Merit Scholarship was, for me, an affirmation,” Rishiprotim says, “and a realization that I could financially afford to continue to challenge myself and learn more in an environment very different from any I was familiar with.” The challenging environment Rishiprotim found was Princeton University, where he studied engineering in operations research and financial engineering. His scholarship served as “a call to action,” he says, “to continue testing myself every day.”
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Kevin N. Medansky
Kevin N. Medansky
“Too often,” Kevin N. Medansky says, “we believe that people are simply born for languages or they are not. It is my firm belief, however, that these skills come from work and dedication.” From the campus of Haverford College in Pennsylvania to the 11th Arrondissement in Paris, Kevin focused his college experiences around his certainty that language can be learned by anyone and can be utilized to bring people together.
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