LONGVIEW, Texas — Four Longview High School seniors have earned some prestigious academic honors within the National Merit program.
Dominic Pistone and Aman Saridena were named National Merit Finalists in the 2024 competition, placing them among the top 1% of high school graduates nationwide.
Over 1.5 million students participate in the highly competitive National Merit Scholarship Program initially and only 15,000 advanced to become finalists after meeting strict requirements, according to Longview ISD.
The district said as finalists, Pistone and Saridena will be considered for prestigious National Merit Scholarships that are worth $2,500.
Both Pistone and Saridena will attend UT Austin. Pistone was accepted into the Plan II Honors Program and Canfield Business Honors Program. Saridena was accepted into the Turing Scholars Computer Science Honors Program.
Fellow seniors Shreemayi Undavalli and Lonoehu Wacasey earned Commended Student recognition in the National Merit program. While they're not National Merit Finalists, they are among the top 50,000 entrants.
Undavalli will attend UT Austin or Rice University to study biology or neuroscience. Wacasey is strongly considering attending the Rochester Institute of Technology to major in computer engineering.
