Contact: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Two brothers at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School are among only eight Kentucky students awarded corporate-sponsored scholarships through the 2009 National Merit Scholarship Program.

Elliott W. Rosenberg, who intends to study engineering or physics, and Kyle R. Rosenberg, who is leaning toward chemical engineering, both will receive awards from Georgia-Pacific LLC.  

They are among some 1,000 distinguished high school seniors awarded scholarships financed by about 200 companies, foundations and other business organizations. These scholars were selected from finalists in the National Merit Scholarship competition who met the criteria of their sponsors. Corporate sponsors provide awards for finalists who are children of their employees, residents of communities the company serves, or who plan to pursue college majors or careers the grantor wishes to encourage.

Most of these awards are renewable for up to four years of college undergraduate study and provide annual stipends ranging from $500 to $10,000 per year. Some provide a single payment between $2,500 and $5,000.

On May 6, the National Merit Scholarship Corp. will announce the recipients of National Merit $2,500 scholarships, and on May 27 and July 13, the winners of college-sponsored merit scholarships.

Fayette County Public Schools had 39 semifinalists and 37 finalists overall.

By the conclusion of this year’s competition, some 8,200 academic champions will have won scholarships worth nearly $36 million. The recipients are judged to have the strongest combination of academic skills and achievements, extracurricular accomplishments and potential for success in rigorous college studies.

For more details, visit http://www.nationalmerit.org/.