Eight Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students have been named 2014 National Merit Scholarship Finalists in the 59th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.
ASMSA students who were selected as finalists are:
* Simon Boerwinkle, a senior from El Dorado. He is the son of David and Robin Boerwinkle and attended El Dorado High School before ASMSA.
* Russell Bryan, a senior from Conway. He is the son of Sarah and Eric Bryan and attended Conway High School before ASMSA.
* Jesse Dai, a senior from Magnolia. He is the son of Juping Wang and Yonghu Dai and attended Magnolia High School before ASMSA.
* Yeongwoo Hwang, a senior from Jonesboro. He is the son of Kyoungsuk Ahn and Yeonsang Hwang and attended Valley View High School before ASMSA.
* Tara Moses, a senior from Arkadelphia. She is the daughter of Cheryl MacKay and attended Arkadelphia High School before ASMSA.
* William Shattuck, a senior from Mammoth Spring. He is the son of Julia and John Shattuck and attended Mammoth Spring High School before ASMSA.
* Zaria Sumler, a senior from Poplar Grove. She is the daughter of Avis Donahoo of Poplar Grove and Amoja Sumler of Little Rock and attended Barton-Lexa High School before ASMSA.
* Claire Turkal, a senior from Hot Springs Village. She is the daughter of Margie Gilbertson and Bruce Turkal and attended Hot Springs High School before ASMSA.
The students will have the opportunity to compete for 8,000 National Merit Scholarships worth about $35 million to be announced this spring and summer.
The National Merit Scholarship Corp., located in Evanston, Ill., oversees the scholarship program. The program honors individual students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies. For more information, visit www.nationalmerit.org.