HARVEY, LA – Two Jefferson Parish Schools students have been named National Merit $2500 Scholarship winners by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

Patrick F. Taylor Academy seniors Emily C. Gibbons and Salma A. Heram were chosen from a talent pool of more than 15,000 outstanding Finalists in the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program. Gibbons’ probable career field is international relations. Heram’s probable career field is medicine. 

“Congratulations to Emily and Salma for achieving an honor earned by a very small percentage of students.” said JP Schools Superintendent Dr. Cade Brumley. “I celebrate their accomplishments along with their educators, families, and the community.”

National Merit $2500 Scholarship winners are the Finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies. The number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the nation’s graduating high school seniors.

Twenty students in Jefferson Parish Schools have been named Finalists in the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program. This is the second announcement of winners in the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program. On April 22, more than 1,000 recipients of corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards were named, and on June 3 and July 13, some 4,100 college-sponsored Merit Scholarship winners will be announced. By the conclusion of this year’s competition, about 7,600 academic champions will have won National Merit Scholarships worth more than $30 million.