Students qualify for NMSP semifinals

Seventy-one students from Hawaii public and private schools have been named semifinalists for the National Merit Scholarship Program.

They are among 16,000 high school seniors competing for some 8,200 scholarships worth more than $35 million. Some 90 percent of semifinalists are expected to reach the finals, and about half of the finalists will win Merit Scholarships in the spring.

More than 1.5 million juniors in over 21,000 high schools entered the program by taking the 2007 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Finalists will vie for one of 2,500 National Merit $2,500 scholarships and about 5,700 scholarships from corporate and college sponsors. The Hawaii students:

Iolani School

» Aisaka, Kristelle K.

» Akamine, Keiko A.

» Asada, Shantel H.

» Castel, Nikki A.

» Chakrabarti, Bhasha

» Chen, Kai Y.

» Duong, Kevin J.

» Durso, Joseph T.

» Hettwer, Alexa J.

» Ho, Lianne T.

» Horie, Julia Bree M.

» Iwamoto, Grant

» Jang, Jueun

» Ko, Amy M.

» Kwock, Jeffery T.

» Liao, Qingyun

» Linsky, Amelia K.

» Martorana, David M.

» McMillan, Jackelyn A.

» Ou, Celia Y.

» Petticord, Zoe M.

» Sakamoto, Jeffrey T.

» Saylors, Jessica S.

» Simao, Zachary P.

» Tamai, Robert J.

» Tanaka, Kevin T.

» Tang, Eve Y.

» Tasaki, Samantha

» Tom, Elysse S.

» Tsedev, Uyanga

» Walker, Lauren E.

» Wilson, Danielle M.

» Yamamura, Emily K.

» Yancey, Sean J.

» Yugawa, Craig M.

» Zhang, Julia A.

Punahou School

» Chen, Allison J.

» Chen, Sophia Y.

» Ezer, Kelsey G.

» Hamada, Jeffrey O.

» Hirai, Susan S.

» Horn, Erik K.

» Inada, Mark K.

» Jiao, John X.

» Kearns, William A.

» Lee, Erica B.

» Lee, Justin

» Medeiros, Christopher L.

» Nagashima, Christopher K.

» Otaguro, Lauren M.

» Schaefer, Nicholas H.

» Silverberg, Samantha J.

» Takinami, Kim G.

» Timtim, Elise L.

» Tribble, Carrie M.

» Wu, Eric M.

» Yamagata, Nicolas R.

» Yamashiro, Julie M.

» Yoshimi, Jessica E.

Moanalua High

» Ruan, Edward J.

» Ward, Michelle M.

Hilo High

» Casart, Nicole K.

Hawaii Baptist Academy

» Imai, Alyssa S.

La Pietra-Hawaii

School For Girls

» Xu, Sandy N.

Maryknoll High

» Besenbruch, Juliana G.

Mid-Pacific Institute

» Saint Georges, Anne-Claire N.

Hawaii Preparatory Academy

» Ainge, Sac N.

Kamehameha Schools

Hawaii campus

» Correa, Keoni

Kauai High

» Hoglen, Nerissa G.

Seabury Hall

» Fischer, Lauren N.

Mililani High

» Mocz, Lucia