Homewood-Flossmoor Community High School District is proud to announce that two members of its senior class — Kathryn Donermeyer and Lillian Hamer, both residents of Homewood — have been named semifinalists in this year’s National Merit Scholarship Program. They are two of nearly 16,000 students across the U.S. to receive this honor from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), based in Evanston.

The two were named semifinalists based upon test scores on the PSAT/NMSQT test, which they completed at H-F in fall 2015. They each now have an opportunity to continue in the NMSC competition for some 7,500 scholarships worth more than $33 million that will be offered in the spring. To advance to the finalist round in the scholarship competition, semifinalists must fulfill several requirements. About 90 percent of semifinalists attain this goal and about half of the finalists will receive a scholarship. Last year H-F’s two semifinalists — Margaret Colton (University of Chicago) and Heather Culbertson (Evangel University) — both attained finalist status.

This is the 62nd year of the program. Scholarships are underwritten with National Merit’s own funds and by approximately 420 business organizations and high education institutions that share the NMSC’s goals of honoring the nation’s scholastic champions and encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence.