MIDDLEBURY — Three Middlebury Union High School students have been named finalists in the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program: Benjamin Graham of Bristol, Sarah Nicolai of Weybridge and Sofia A. Stefani of Middlebury. The trio are among the roughly 15,000 finalists throughout the nation who are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise.

These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $33 million, which will be offered later this spring. Each student will receive a Certificate of Merit from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation honoring their achievement. About half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.

Three more MUHS students have been named as Commended students in program: Ava Devost of Middlebury, and Timothy Hunsdorfer and Kathryn Waterman of Weybridge. About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the entire nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Although they will not continue in the 2020 competition for National Merit Scholarship awards, Commended Students placed among the top 50,000 scorers of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2021 competition by taking the 2020 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.