Five academically talented Fairfax County Public High School students are awarded 2025 “Corporate-sponsored Scholarships” from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. Two awardees are from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, two are from Langley High School, and one is from McLean High School.
The five students are among over 830 National Merit finalists chosen to receive scholarships financed by corporations, company foundations, and other business organizations. National Merit Scholarship Corporation anticipates awarding approximately 6,870 National Merit Scholarships in 2026, categorized into three types: National Merit $2,500, college-sponsored, and corporate-sponsored.
The Fairfax County Public School student winners of the National Merit Scholarships in the 2025 corporate-sponsored and individual donor awards, with their probable career fields in parentheses, and the names of their high schools, are as follows:
* Samarth Bhargav (computer science) received the General Dynamics Corporation Scholarship, and
* Claire Chen (academia) received the GEICO Scholarship. Both attend Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.
* Jayden Lee (law) received the George Watts Hill Scholarship, and
* Riley Katherine Seewer (law) received the Boeing Scholarship. They both attend Langley High School in McLean.
* Aileen Wu (finance) received the NVIDIA Corporation Scholarship. Wu attends McLean High School, McLean.
National Merit Scholarship Corporation was established in 1955, when there was concern that the United States was lagging in the Space Race. In response, the National Merit Scholarship Program was created to identify and honor scholastically talented American youth and encourage them to develop their abilities fully.