Four Richland Two Seniors. One Incredible Achievement.

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) has announced its 2026 National Merit $2,500 Scholarship winners, and four outstanding seniors from Richland School District Two have earned this prestigious academic honor.

These students were selected from a highly competitive national talent pool of more than 15,000 Finalists. The Richland Two winners, along with their high schools and intended career fields, include:

• Caroline M. Brandes (Richland Northeast High School) – Probable career field: Law
• Ella J. Baker (Spring Valley High School) – Probable career field: Medicine
• Sreeman Parise (Spring Valley High School) – Probable career field: Finance
• Colin C. Tang (Spring Valley High School) – Probable career field: Medicine

According to the NMSC®, the journey for these scholars began when more than 1.3 million juniors from approximately 20,000 high schools nationwide entered the 2026 competition by taking the 2024 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®).

The $2,500 Scholarships represent the first round of National Merit awards. The NMSC will continue to announce additional 2026 scholarship winners through July. 

About 830 corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards will be provided by approximately 150 corporations and business organizations for finalists who meet their specified criteria, such as children of the grantor’s employees or residents of communities where sponsor plants or offices are located. In addition, about 150 colleges and universities are expected to finance some 3,600 college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards for finalists who will attend the sponsor institution.