Pillow Academy senior Dia Chawla has been named a National Merit Scholarship winner.
National Merit Scholarship Corp. announced Wednesday this year’s National Merit $2,500 Scholarship winners. Chawla is one of 20 recipients in Mississippi.
Nationwide, 2,500 Merit Scholar designees were selected. They were chosen from a pool of more than 15,000 finalists in the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program.
Chawla, 18, is the daughter of Suresh and Gauri Chawla of Greenwood. She will graduate from Pillow Academy Friday and is valedictorian of her class.
According to National Merit Scholarship Corp., the winners were finalists in each state who were “judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills and potential for success in rigorous college studies.”
They were selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors who appraised information submitted by both the finalists and their high schools, such as academic record, scores from the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, contributions and leadership in school and community activities, an essay written by the finalist, and a recommendation written by a high school official.
The number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the nation’s graduating high school seniors.
Chawla has a 4.92 grade point average and scored a 36 on the ACT. At Pillow, she is a member of various student organizations, honor societies and clubs. She was recently named a STAR student by the Mississippi Economic Council.
Chawla is a member of the basketball, tennis and dance teams, serving as dance team captain.
This school year, she was chosen as the National High School Heisman female winner.
She created the ACT Diversity Preparation Club, a prep course for students at Pillow and Greenwood High School. She also volunteers her time at numerous Greenwood nonprofit organizations.
She plans to attend Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and is considering studying sociology and government.
