DoDEA

ARLINGTON, VA — May 10, 2010 — Shannon Grammel, a student at Fort Campbell High School, was recently selected as a National Merit $2500 Scholarship winner by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC). Grammel was chosen along with 2,500 other high school students to receive $2500 scholarships.
Shannon Grammel is the second Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) student to receive a 2010 National Merit Scholarship from a group of six DoDEA Finalists.
Grammel, a graduating senior, transferred to Fort Campbell High School from Heidelberg High School during her senior year. She has been named Valedictorian of her senior class and will attend Harvard University in Massachusetts in the fall.
Dave Witte, the principal of Fort Campbell High School, congratulated Grammel on her accomplishment and cited her hard work and dedication to her academic studies.
“Shannon is the most outstanding student I have worked with in my 39 years of teaching, counseling, and administrating in education, whether in the public sector or with the Department of Defense Schools,” said Witte. “This is a great honor and I’d like to extend my congratulations to Shannon and her family. Shannon has definitely earned this honor.”
Students are able to use their awards at any regionally accredited college or university in the U.S. The majority of the single-payment, $2500 Scholarships are being financed by NMSC. However, some corporations and company foundations have sponsored awards through NMSC and underwrite these scholarships with grants they provide instead of paying administrative fees.
Approximately 1.5 million juniors in over 22,000 high schools were eligible for entry into the 2010 National Merit Scholarship competition when they took the 2008 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®).
Sixteen thousand of these students were selected as Semifinalists and were designated on a state representational basis, in numbers proportional to each state’s percentage of the nation’s high school graduating seniors.
Students that are selected as National Merit $2500 Scholarship winners are the finalists in each state that have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills and potential for success in rigorous college studies.
The National Merit Scholarship winners were selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors. The committee looked at information submitted by both the finalists and their high schools, their academic record including difficulty level of subjects studied and grades earned; scores from two standardized tests; contributions and leadership in school and community activities; an essay written by the Finalist; and a recommendation written by a high school official. The number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the nation’s high school graduating seniors.
Approximately 15,000 thousand Semifinalists proceeded to the Finalist level.
Four remaining DoDEA finalists are still eligible for two additional College-sponsored groups of awards. NMSC will announce the winners of the college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards on May 26 and July 12.
By the end of the year, the NMSC estimates that it will award 8,400 scholars with scholarship awards worth a combined $36 million.
DoDEA plans, directs, coordinates, and manages pre-kindergarten through 12th grade education programs for Department of Defense (DoD) dependents who would otherwise not have access to a high-quality, public education. DoDEA schools are located in Europe, the Pacific, the United States, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. DoDEA also provides support and resources to Local Education Activities throughout the U.S. that serve children of military families.
For more information on the National Merit Scholarship please visit: www.nationalmerit.org/nmsp.php