Seven Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School students have been named Commended Students in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program. The students are Annie Ricca, Emma Telpis, Garet Su, Isabella Mirenda, Joseph Lambert, Karoly Jakab, and Venny Ebrahim. 

They are among the 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation recognized for their exceptional academic promise.  

“Congratulations to Annie, Emma, Garet, Isabella, Joseph, Karoly, and Venny for excelling academically and making the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Public Schools community proud,” said Superintendent Dr. Joan Mast. “With their hard work and dedication, these students are bound to achieve continued academic success, and we’ll be cheering them on through every accomplishment.” 

Students entered the National Merit Scholarship Program, a nationwide competition for recognition and awards conducted by National Merit Scholarship Program, by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) last year. In April, NMSC identified the 50,000 highest scorers and notified their high schools. 

Although these seven students will not continue in the 2026 competition for National Merit Scholarship awards, they are recognized for placing among the nation’s top scorers. 

Congratulations to our SPFHS students and all the Commended Students nationwide!