(from news release)
Two Sartell High School seniors, Lyzander Irvin Borg and Laila Oloriegbe, received honorable designations in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program.
Irvin Borg, a semifinalist, joins less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors as the highest-scoring entrants in each state.
Oloriegbe, a commended student, is recognized for exceptional academic promise and is placed among the top 50,000 students who entered the 2025 National Merit Scholarship competition.
Irvin Borg is just one of two Sartell residents to be announced as a National Merit semifinalist. Some weeks ago, Amanda Bolton also received that honor. She is a senior at the St. John’s Preparatory School in Collegeville. A story about her and her achievement was published in the Oct. 4 Newsleader.
High school juniors entered the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2024 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which served as an initial screen of program entrants.
“On behalf of the entire Sartell High School community, I want to share how proud we are of Lyzander and Laila,” said Sartell High School Principal Shayne Kusler.
To become a finalist, the semifinalist and a high school official must submit a detailed scholarship application in which they provide information about the semifinalist’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received.
From more than 16,000 semifinalists, more than 15,000 are expected to advance to the finalist level, and in February they will be notified of that designation. All National Merit Scholarship winners will be selected from this group of finalists.
Lyzander Irvin Borg
Laila Oloriegbe
