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SOUTH BRUNSWICK: National Merit semi-finalists honored

By Ed Birch, Special Writer
   The Board of Education honored eight students who have been recognized as National Merit Semi-Finalists this year. These honorees represent the top 16,000 of the 1.5 million students who competed in the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) last year.
   SBHS had nine semi-finalists and 36 commended students. The combined total of 45 National Merit honorees this year represents the highest total in school history, according to the district.
   Shivani Bhangley is involved in the Newspaper Club as Managing Editor and also participates in Indian Classical Dance for the past eight years. She has applied for admission to University of Maryland, NYU, Cornell, College of New Jersey, and Boston College. She has also been accepted to Rutgers. She is intending on majoring in Mathematics.
   Jerry Britto participated in the Junior Statesmen of America and the Science Olympiad. He has applications submitted to Columbia, Rutgers, Boston University, University of Michigan, and Cornell. He is anticipating majoring in Cellular Biology/Genetics and going on to medical school.
   Grace Li is active in the Art Discovery Program and is the co-captain of the New Jersey Math League, She has applied to the University of Chicago, Dartmouth, Princeton, and Stanford. She has already been accepted to MIT and is leaning towards attending that school. She is majoring in Architecture, Visual Studies, and Biological Engineering.
   Davis Liu is active in the Chess Club and the Science Olympiad. He has applied to Princeton, MIT, Columbia, Yale, and Harvard. In addition, he has been accepted to Rutgers. He is interested in majoring in Computer Science/Engineering.
   Gautam Ramaswamy participates in the Science Olympiad and First Tech Challenge. He has been accepted to Cornell University as a Electrical Engineering major.
   Shyeta Sharma is active in the Science Olympiad and volunteers at Princeton Health Systems. She has applied to University of Pennsylvania, Columbia, Princeton, UNC-Chapel Hill, and Cornell. She has also been accepted to Rutgers. Ms. Sharma will major in Chemical and Biological Engineering or Pharmacy.
   Francesca Tang plays the piano. She has applied to the University of Chicago, Princeton, Harvard, Duke, and Cornell. She has been accepted to Rutgers. She is hoping to major in Biology.
   Richard Xu is active in the Science Olympiad and the Chess Club. He has applied for admission to Cornell, University of Michigan, Boston University, Boston College and the University of Chicago. He has been accepted to Rutgers, and will major in Finance and Engineering.
   The board will honor the 36 commended students at a future meeting.