Students Earn Prestigious College-Sponsored Merit Scholarships

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) has announced 2026 National Merit College-Sponsored Scholarship winners, and three outstanding recent graduates from Richland School District Two have earned this prestigious academic honor.

Officials of each sponsor college selected their scholarship winners from among the finalists in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program who plan to attend their institution. The Richland Two winners, along with their high schools and intended career fields, include:

• William R. Barkan (Ridge View High School) – Probable career field: College Professor
• Tyreun Holmes (Ridge View High School) – Probable career field: Civil Engineering
• Jacob A. Carter (Spring Valley High School) – Probable career field: Engineering

All three scholarship recipients will be attending the University of South Carolina. These awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship. 

Additional recipients of college-sponsored awards will be announced on July 13. By the conclusion of this year’s competition, about 6,700 academic champions will have won National Merit Scholarships worth approximately $24 million.