Rockwood Graduates Earn College-Sponsored National Merit Scholarships

Recent Rockwood School District graduates Owen Bathe (Eureka High), Nora Dean (Marquette High), Ben Dimmic (Lafayette High), Kyle Klaas, Gavin Lingafelter and Charlotte Qin (all Marquette) are among the first round of this year’s College-Sponsored National Merit Scholarship winners.

More than 2,900 college-sponsored scholarship winners were announced June 5, with an additional group being named in July to bring the total to more than 3,600. Officials of each sponsor college selected their scholarship winners from among the finalists in the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program who plan to attend their institution. These awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship. This year, 149 higher education institutions are underwriting Merit Scholarship awards through the National Merit Scholarship Program. Sponsor colleges and universities include 77 private and 72 public institutions located in 42 states and the District of Columbia.

Rockwood’s six honorees are among only 57 college-sponsored scholarship winners from the state of Missouri announced in the first round. Along with three corporate-sponsored awardees and four who earned $2500 scholarships, 13 recent Rockwood graduates have now earned 2024 National Merit Scholarships. By the conclusion of this year’s competition, more than 6,870 students will have won National Merit Scholarships worth approximately $26 million.

Congratulations to these outstanding Rockwood graduates!

Owen Bathe, Eureka - National Merit University of Alabama Scholarship

Probable Career Field: Financial Planning

Nora Dean, Marquette - National Merit University of Florida Scholarship

Probable Career Field: Foreign Service

Ben Dimmic, Lafayette - National Merit Purdue University Scholarship

Probable Career Field: Engineering

Kyle Klaas, Marquette - National Merit Purdue University Scholarship

Probable Career Field: Chemical Engineering

Gavin Lingafelter, Marquette - National Merit University of Arkanas, Fayetteville Scholarship

Probable Career Field: Anesthesiology

Charlotte Qin, Marquette - National Merit University of Southern California Scholarship

Probable Career Field: Applied Mathematics