Lee receives national merit scholarship at University of Kansas

Thursday, December 2, 2010

LAWRENCE -- The Financial Aid and Scholarships office at the University of Kansas has announced the names of new students earning the prestigious National Merit and National Hispanic scholarships and the university's merit scholarships for top graduates of Kansas high schools.

Twenty-six freshmen earned National Merit Scholarships and two others earned National Hispanic Scholarships, both widely regarded as the most prestigious national awards bestowed upon high school seniors. Both provide $10,000 and are renewable.

Kenda Cilene Lee, daughter of Rhonda Lee, Fort Scott, received the Watkins-Berger award. She is a freshman, majoring in English. Lee graduated from Fort Scott High School.

In addition, 118 new students have received either a Solon Summerfield or Elizabeth Miller Watkins-Emily Berger scholarship for fall 2010. These two scholarships provide $4,500 a year for four years to Kansas high school graduates with distinguished academic and leadership records.

Fewer than 10,000 students, or less than 1 percent, of the 1.2 million who compete for the awards receive National Merit or National Hispanic scholarships. Recipients are chosen based on their academic abilities and extracurricular activities.

Six KU students earned National Merit distinction this year in addition to earning perfect scores on their college entrance exams. With perfect scores, those six students qualified for and chose KU's Perfect Achievement Scholarship that covers full tuition, fees, room and board.

To be eligible for the Summerfield and Watkins-Berger scholarships, Kansas high school seniors need a cumulative grade-point average of 3.65 (on a 4.0 scale) and an ACT score of 31 or higher or SAT score of 1360 in math and critical reading.

Support for the $10,000 National Merit and National Hispanic scholarships comes from private scholarships through KU Endowment, the official fundraising and fund-management foundation for KU. The National Merit Scholarship Corp. also offers some scholarships in addition to the $10,000 awarded by KU. KU Endowment also manages the funds for the Summerfield and Watkins-Berger scholarships. Founded in 1891, KU Endowment is the oldest foundation of its kind at a U.S. public university.

Names of the new scholarship recipients are listed by hometown, level in school, major, parents' names (when available), high school and scholarship at www.news.ku.edu/2010/november/19/scholarships.shtml.