Four students from John S. Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School have been honored in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program for their outstanding performance on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®).
Annie Zhang was named a National Merit Semifinalist, placing among the top 1% of high school seniors nationwide. She will continue in the competition for one of the $28 million in scholarships to be awarded next spring, according to a press release from the Richmond County School System.
Three other Davidson students — Colette Kriegal, Luka Armstrong, and Anna Harwood — earned recognition as National Merit Commended Scholars, a distinction given to students who demonstrate strong academic promise.
While Commended Scholars do not advance further, they are among the top 50,000 students in the country, according to a press release from the Richmond County School System.
Shawnda Stovall, president of the Richmond County Board of Education, praised the students’ dedication, as the PSAT is an “important step” to prepare for college applications.
“It takes several hours of focused study, practice tests, and dedication to master the skills tested, and for our students to advance to semifinalist status or to earn commendation means they not only rose to that rigor but proved they can stand with the top students in the nations,” Stovall said.
Each year, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation identifies about 16,000 semifinalists and 34,000 commended students nationwide from a pool of more than 1.3 million juniors across 20,000 high schools.
