Newtown High School students Sadie Baimel and Aadit Jerfy were announced as Finalists in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program on Wednesday, February 26.

Baimel and Jerfy went to the school’s counseling office that morning, where they were congratulated by a small crowd consisting of their respective guidance counselors Lauren Marti and Jeffrey Tolson and other NHS staff members.

The National Merit Scholarship Program is an annual academic competition among high school students for recognition and college undergraduate scholarships. The program determined which of the 16,000 Semifinalists named in September of last year met the requirements to advance to Finalist standing.

Baimel and Jerfy are two of over 15,000 Finalists for this year’s competition. According to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, they have already begun the process of selecting 6,870 Merit Scholarship winners from the total number of Finalists.

Director of School Counseling Bret Nichols was happy to read the announcement, which said that Baimel and Jerfy have been selected for their “distinguished performance and high potential for further academic accomplishment.” Baimel and Jerfy each got their own certificate congratulating them for their accomplishment.

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation will begin notifying scholarship winners by email in March, with confidential notification sent to their high schools.

Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.