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Seniors Sanvi Surapaneni and Grant Gillum of Dripping Springs High School have been named National Merit Semifinalists based on their performance on the 2024 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).
Gillum and Surapaneni are among more than 16,000 semifinalists nationwide, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors. Of those, about 95 percent are expected to advance to Finalist status, and approximately half will earn a National Merit Scholarship.
Surapaneni is a member of the statequalifying robotics team, The Spring Konstant, and has developed her own AI program. She is actively involved in several student organizations at Dripping Springs High School, including HOSA, Youth and Government, National Honor Society, and Model UN.
Gillum is a five-time Texas History Day Contest state champion and was named a 2025 Coolidge Senator — an honor awarded to only 100 students nationwide who demonstrate exceptional academic achievement. Gillum also serves as president of the National Honor Society and plays on the Tiger basketball team.
National Merit Finalists will be announced in early 2026.
