Maya Parker and Luke Pease, seniors at Madeira High School, have been named Semifinalists in the 72nd annual National Merit Scholarship Program.

The two students scored among less than 1% of U.S. high school seniors on the 2025 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, known as the PSAT/NMSQT. Parker and Pease are among more than 16,000 semifinalists selected from roughly 1.2 million students who took the test, according to a Madeira City Schools announcement. The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) released the names on Wednesday, Sept. 9.

At Madeira High School, which enrolls 438 students in grades 9 through 12, the recognition continues a steady pattern. Superintendent Kenji Matsudo congratulated three semifinalists at the Sept. 15, 2025, board meeting: Owen Donovan, Evan Cissell and Ben Wetzel. The year before that, four Madeira students earned the distinction: Owen Dixon, Morgan Starr, Wes Nelson and Will Manning.

Parker and Pease now compete for a share of approximately 6,700 National Merit Scholarships worth about $24 million, to be awarded in spring 2027. To advance, each must complete a detailed application covering academics, extracurricular activities, leadership and community involvement. About 95% of semifinalists are expected to reach Finalist standing, according to the NMSC.

Roughly half of those finalists will receive a scholarship.

The awards fall into three categories. Every finalist competes for one of 2,500 National Merit $2,500 Scholarships. About 140 colleges and universities are expected to provide approximately 3,500 college-sponsored scholarships to finalists who enroll at their institutions.

Finalist notifications go out in February 2027.

Scholarship winners will be announced in four rounds from April through July 2027. The Madeira City Schools Board of Education meets next on Monday, Sept. 21, at 7 p.m. in the Perin Learning Commons at Madeira High School. The board recognized last year's semifinalists at its September 2025 meeting.