Two Pittsford Graduates Named National Merit Scholars — and 17 Neighbors Made Finalist

The National Merit Scholarship Program begins with 1.3 million high school students. Pittsford's Class of 2026 placed 19 graduates in the finalist pool — and two of them, William Harrington of Mendon High School and Weijun Wang of Sutherland High School, earned the 2026 Pittsford National Merit Scholar designation. Each received a $2,500 scholarship. The other 17 Pittsford finalists joined a national pool of more than 15,000 from an opening field of 1.3 million students. Every one of those names belongs in the record.

What It Means to Be a National Merit Scholar

What It Means to Be a National Merit Scholar

The program narrows sharply at each stage. According to the Pittsford Central School District, Harrington and Wang were selected from approximately 6,700 Merit Scholarship winners out of more than 15,000 finalists and an opening pool of 1.3 million students who take the PSAT/NMSQT each year. That's fewer than one in 190 from the starting field.

The review at the finalist stage goes beyond test scores — the selection considers academic record, extracurricular involvement, an essay, and a school recommendation. Getting to finalist from that national pool is the hard part. Making Scholar from there is what Harrington and Wang did.

William Harrington graduated from Mendon High School this past spring. Weijun Wang graduated from Sutherland High School in the same class. Both are members of Pittsford's Class of 2026, and both earned the full National Merit Scholar designation from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

Each received a $2,500 scholarship. The district's announcement said it plainly: "Pittsford Central School District congratulates Pittsford Class of 2026 graduates William Harrington (Mendon High School) and Weijun Wang (Sutherland High School) for earning the prestigious title of National Merit Scholars!"

Two students. Two schools. One district that produced both.

Pittsford's 17 Finalists: Names Worth Celebrating

Pittsford's 17 Finalists: Names Worth Celebrating

Reaching national finalist status means placing in the top 15,000 from a pool of more than 1.3 million students who sat for the PSAT/NMSQT. All 17 earned that standing from the same graduating class. These are their names.

Mendon High School (9 finalists): Jay S. Biswas, Kevin P. Curran, Evan Liyu Dai, William J. Harrington, Jacob T. Ho, Karthik Jaligama, Ishaan Ramesh, Rain Royce, and Yiding Zuo.

Sutherland High School (8 finalists): Jamie Lyn Y. Earley, Ronit Gevarghese, Mary J. Minnella, Ryan Shaffer, Michael Shi, Weijun Wang, Ziao Oliver Wang, and Anderson Warner.

The full district announcement has the complete record for all 19 graduates.