3 Ann Arbor-area students receive college-sponsored National Merit Scholarships

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• National Merit Scholarship Competition: 1 Saline and 13 Ann Arbor students awarded $2,500
• 3 Ann Arbor students win corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarships
• Semifinalists announced in 2013 National Merit Scholarship Competition

Three more students have joined a growing list of Ann Arbor-area National Merit Scholarship award recipients.

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced the first round of college-sponsored winners Wednesday. There were about 68 students in Michigan who received money from colleges and universities to obtain a post-secondary education; three were from the Ann Arbor-area.

Leah Awkward-Rich of Ann Arbor, who attends Community High School, was given a scholarship from Oberlin College near Cleveland. She plans to pursue a career in psychology.

Jason Miller, also of Ann Arbor, attends Cranbrook Kingswood School in Bloomfield Hills. He received a scholarship from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., and plans to study neurobiology.

Ruth Blower of Ypsilanti, who goes to Father Gabriel Richard High School in Ann Arbor, is interested in a career in biology. She was given a monetary award from St. Olaf College in Minnesota.

Scholarship recipients annually receive between $500 and $2,000 for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship. A second group of college-sponsored National Merit Scholars will be announced on July 15.

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation began announcing award recipients in April. Students can win a $2,500 award from the corporation itself. There were 14 winners from Washtenaw County.

Three students from Ann Arbor also were given corporate-sponsored scholarships. Awkward-Rich, Miller and Blower brings the list of local award winners to 20.

Danielle Arndt covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. Follow her on Twitter @DanielleArndt or email her at daniellearndt@annarbor.com.