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Five Fairfax County Public Schools seniors have secured corporate-sponsored scholarships through the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.
The recipients include two students from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, two from Langley High School and one from McLean High School. They are among more than 830 National Merit finalists selected for scholarships funded by corporations, company foundations and other business organizations.
Samarth Bhargav, who plans to pursue computer science, received the General Dynamics Corporation Scholarship. Claire Chen, whose probable career field is academia, received the GEICO Scholarship. Both attend Thomas Jefferson.
Langley students Jayden Lee and Riley Katherine Seewer, who each identified law as a probable career field, also earned awards. Lee received the George Watts Hill Scholarship, while Seewer received the Boeing Scholarship.
Aileen Wu of McLean High School received the NVIDIA Corporation Scholarship. Her probable career field is finance.
The organization anticipates awarding approximately 6,870 National Merit Scholarships in 2026 across three categories: National Merit $2,500 Scholarships, college-sponsored scholarships and corporate-sponsored scholarships.
Established in 1955 amid concerns that the United States was falling behind in the Space Race, the National Merit Scholarship Program was created to recognize academically talented young people and encourage them to develop their abilities.