Odessa High School senior named National Merit Scholarship Finalist
Apr. 4—Ector County ISD has announced that Odessa High School senior Anika Gundlapalli has earned National Merit Scholarship Finalist status, meaning she ranks among the top 1/2 -percent of the more than 1.3 million high school seniors.
This honor is based on her performance on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), in the fall semester of her junior year, a news release said.
She was introduced as a National Merit Finalist as last week's school board meeting.
Anika is the daughter of Drs. Meghana Gillala and Sai Gundlapalli.
She is the Valedictorian of her class, an International Baccalaureate Diploma candidate, and a Presidential Scholar nominee. She is a member of the OHS Varsity Choir, President of the Junior Volunteer Teen Leadership Program at Medical Center Hospital, a volunteer at the Crisis Center of West Texas, and Founder and President of the Foundation for Mental Health Empowerment and Education. She wants to pursue a career in medicine and is undecided on a college.
One of the goals of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation is to identify and honor academically talented U.S. high school students. Since its founding, NMSC has recognized over 3.5 million students and provided some 470,000 scholarships worth over $1.8 billion. The honors awarded by NMSC to exceptionally able students are viewed as definitive marks of excellence. This year, some 7,000 scholarships are available worth approximately $28 million.
