Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics Contact: Linda Waters 1141 North Lincoln Blvd. Director of Public Information Oklahoma City, Okla. 73104 Phone: 405.522.7806 Email: [email protected] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics Celebrates 22 National Merit Semifinalists Oklahoma City- (Sept. 25, 2019)- Twenty-two Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics (OSSM) seniors have been named as semifinalists in the 2020 Competition for National Merit Scholarships. The OSSM students are: David Ban (Choctaw), Anika Bekkem (Edmond), Sam Bird (Edmond), Matt Carroll (Stillwater), Neil Chopra (Edmond), Helen Dai (Stillwater), Edwin Ding (Bartlesville), Ruth Anne Dunn (Edmond), Sophia Horner (Stillwater), Adarsh Kunnel (Yukon), Caitlin Le (Oklahoma City), Cindy Li (Stillwater), Alex Lin (Ponca City), Jolie Ma (Ardmore), Jessi Martin (Jones), Anthony Nguyen (Lawton), Erika Nguyen (Oklahoma City), Sophia-Joy Patrock (Tulsa), Hailan Qian (Norman), Pau Sang (Norman), Grace Wu (Edmond), Aaron Xue (Norman). Selection as National Merit Semifinalists is based on performance on the PSAT test taken at the beginning of a student’s junior year, the first year of attendance at OSSM. “I believe this year’s list of semifinalists is the largest in our school’s history,” said Frank Wang, Ph.D., president of OSSM. “We congratulate these students and recognize the schools that sent them to OSSM for their outstanding preparation as students took the PSAT test shortly after arriving at OSSM.” More than 16,000 semifinalists were named by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation in the 65th annual National Merit Scholarship program. These high school seniors now have an opportunity to continue in the competition for 7,600 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $31 million that will be offered next spring. More than 1.5 million juniors in about 21,000 high schools entered the 2020 National Merit Scholarship program by taking the 2018 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which serves as an initial screen of program entrants. National Merit Scholarship winners of 2020 will be announced starting in April and concluding in July. Established in 1955, National Merit Scholarship Corporation is an independent, not-for- profit organization that operates without government assistance. Since its founding, NMSC has recognized 2.9 million academically talented high school students and provided over 377,000 scholarships worth $1.5 billion. The honors awarded by NMSC to exceptionally able students are viewed as definitive marks of excellence and contribute to developing future leaders. The late Julian Stanley, founder of Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth and a nationally known expert on gifted education said, “OSSM is the most rigorous academic program of its kind in the nation.” For a number of years, the ACT testing company publicly announced that OSSM students had the highest ACT average of any school in the nation. The organization has since discontinued announcing school scores. During the two years students are at OSSM their ACT scores increase dramatically. Nationally ranked as a top public high school in the United States, OSSM provides a college-level, academically advanced curriculum in science and math to juniors and seniors across the state. Created through legislative action in 1983, the two-year residential public high school also serves all Oklahoma schools and students through math contests, research, teacher training and professional development and outreach activities. For more information, call 405-521-6436 or log on to www.ossm.edu. For more information: www.ossm.edu. ### LIST OF OSSM NATIONAL MERIT SEMIFINALISTS AND SENDING SCHOOLS OSSM is a residential high school for juniors and seniors from across the state and is the only one of its kind in Oklahoma. OSSM partners with the state of Oklahoma and the Department of Education to provide an advanced STEM education. Because the junior year is the first at OSSM, students begin preparation for standardized testing at their sending schools. While at OSSM, students increase their scores by an average of three points. Below is a list of the OSSM National Merit Semifinalists and their sending schools. David Ban Choctaw Carl Albert High School Anika Bekkem Edmond Classen SAS Sam Bird Edmond Edmond North High School Matt Carroll Stillwater Stillwater High School Neil Chopra Edmond Classen SAS Helen Dai Stillwater Stillwater High School Edwin Ding Bartlesville Bartlesville High School Ruth Anne Dunn Edmond Bixby High School Sophia Horner Stillwater Stillwater High School Adarsh Kunnel Yukon Yukon High School Caitlin Le Oklahoma City Bishop McGuinness High School Cindy Li Stillwater Stillwater High School Alex Lin Ponca City Ponca City High School Jolie Ma Ardmore Plainview High School Jessi Martin Jones Bishop McGuinness High School Anthony Nguyen Lawton Lawton Academy of Arts and Sciences Erika Nguyen Oklahoma City Classen SAS Sophia-Joy Patrock Tulsa Epic Charter Schools Hailan Qian Norman Norman North High School Pau Sang Norman Norman North High School Grace Wu Edmond Edmond Santa Fe High School Aaron Xue Norman Norman North High School .