Garland ISD is proud to recognize 11 high school students who have been named National Merit Semifinalists in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship competition. This prestigious distinction places these students among the nation's top academic performers.

Congratulations to the following students:

Garland High School
Samuel Halpin
Grey Hough
Ethan Lin
Thomas Rodgers
Theophilus Saw
Khang Vu
Aletheia Yu

Naaman Forest High School
Bao D. Hoang (Former student)

Sachse High School
Michelle Chung
Andrew Owen

The district’s 11 Semifinalists also include one student from North Garland High School who has requested to remain anonymous.

The National Merit Scholarship Program is a highly competitive, nationwide academic recognition and scholarship program that began in 1955. Students qualify by excelling on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®) and meeting additional program requirements. Each year, over 1.3 million high school juniors from approximately 20,000 schools participate in the program. Semifinalists represent less than 1% of U.S. high school seniors, with the number of Semifinalists in each state determined by the state’s proportion of the national graduating class.

Semifinalists now have the opportunity to advance to Finalist status, which includes submitting a detailed scholarship application, maintaining an outstanding academic record, earning strong SAT or ACT scores, and demonstrating leadership and extracurricular involvement. Students will be notified of their Finalist designation in February. From over 16,000 Semifinalists nationwide, about 95% are expected to become Finalists, and roughly half of those will receive a National Merit Scholarship.

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC®), a nonprofit organization, conducts this program to honor academically talented students and promote excellence in education. Garland ISD congratulates these students for their exceptional achievements and dedication to academic excellence.