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Posing for a fun picture, the Semifinalists huddle close together to capture this memory. Following the individual recognition of the students, the Semifinalists had the opportunity to get numerous group and single photos.
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Listening to the culmination of the speeches, the Semifinalists await for their name to be called to take a picture with Principal Erin Campbell. While the Semifinalists were being recognized, a slideshow with their baby pictures was playing behind them.
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The 63 National Merit Semifinalists stand together in a group photo following the ceremony. Principal Erin Campbell and Lead Counselor Holly Browning hosted an academic achievement ceremony before school to recognize the hard work and efforts of their students.
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Standing at the podium to address the crowd of parents and students, Lead Counselor Holly Browning gives a speech on the “Westwood Bubble” and truly how important this success is. In an environment where many students feel inadequate, recognizing their achievement is imperative.
Continuing Westwood’s trend of smashing records in the realm of national academic success, this year the school named 63 National Merit Semifinalists — a number unprecedented in recent years. On the morning of Wednesday, Sept. 10, these seniors, along with their families, attended an Academic Achievement ceremony to be recognized for their outstanding performance.
The title of Semifinalist is given to a select 1% of the 1.3 million students around the nation who take the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). Test-takers that receive a National Merit Selection Index score above a certain threshold meet the qualifications for Semifinalist, and are then eligible to apply to become a Finalist. The index score ranges from 48 to 228, and the threshold is determined by state. While Texas usually fluctuates at a threshold of 219 to 220, this year marked a surprising change: the threshold rose three points from last year to a 222.
“[The impact of the Westwood Bubble] is pretty insane, especially because the index [score] was a 222, so significantly higher, but we still had an increase in overall qualifiers,” Anika Aslesh ‘26 said. “I wasn’t too surprised though because a lot of my friends got really good, perfect scores — which just shows the competitiveness of Westwood.”
Following a light breakfast, the ceremony officially began with Lead Counselor Holly Browning and Principal Erin Campbell commending the students on their success, urging them to acknowledge the importance of their efforts. After each individual Semifinalist was recognized, the ceremony culminated with individual and group photos.
“I was really happy to see [a lot of my friends] there because I know we all worked really hard for it,” Karen Chen ‘26 said. “I wasn’t surprised because they were all people I know who worked really hard for it, but I’m just really glad that we were all there and able to share the moment.”
In order to transition from a Semifinalist to a Finalist, these students must now undergo an application process complete with essays and recommendations. Final recipients will be based not only on the quality of their application, but also their potential for success in college and future career.
Below is the full list of National Merit Semifinalists:
Soojin Ahn
Amogh Akella
Anika Aslesh
Sanjana Aslesh
Savya Bhat
Kyle Chen
Yuyan Chen
Arnav Chinnappareddy
Sarayu Chittireddy
Vedant Desai
Daniel Fan
Viraj Gadiya
Rodrigo Garcia
Anshuman Garg
Srirang Girish
Ryan Gu
Vibha Hirsave
Charlie Hui
Alexis Hwang
Tapasya Illuri
Alistair Ivanov
Natalie Ju
Aarya Kale
Ella Kim
William Langdon
Claire Lee
Victor Lehr
Amy Li
Jason Li
Kevin Li
Cynthia Liu
Evelyn Liu
Nishita Mukkara
Ayan Nagulapally
Viktor Nguyen
Betul Ozgen
Berntrand Qu
Noah Revelett
Vasin Sannareddy
Daniel Schuler
David Simionescu
Hersh Singh
Carter Smith
Uma Sthanu
Josephine Sun
Mahek Sureka
Aanya Ujjval
Iris Wang
Kalia Wang
Aiden Wen
Theodore Wong
Eileen Wu
Howell Wu
Joshua Wu
Annikka Xu
Samuel Yarbrough
Rachel Yee
Yuejia Yeong
Isabella Yi
Justin Yu
Helen Zhang
Lerchen Zhong
Annie Zhu
![Intensely concentrated, seniors Ari June, Christine Kim, and Sahana Suryanarayan collectively paint a portrait of Charli XCX's face. While painting, they shared stories about past experiences and bonded over similar interests in music. "I've definitely grown as a collaborator because in NAHS [National Art Honor Society], you're all growing together as artists and collaborators," Suryanarayan said. "The portrait helped me make room for others while painting."](jpg/edit_2025-09-02_nahsmeeting_sophiacortes-4-1200x800.jpg)
