The 2018 McDermott Scholars
The 2018 class of Scholars is made up of 9 women and 7 men, with 7 students from Texas and 9 from 8 other states. Collectively, this class has an average two-part SAT score of 1560, and 11 of the 16 received recognition from the National Merit Scholarship program.

Ms. Julia LaFond
Hometown: Spring Branch, TX
High School: Smithson Valley High School
Major: Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology

Ms. Solvay Linde
Hometown: Dallas, TX
High School: School for the Talented and Gifted
Major: Computer Science

Ms. Snipta Mallick
Hometown: Plano, TX
High School: Texas Academy of Math and Science
Major: Healthcare Studies

Ms. Patricia Mathu
Hometown: Whitefish Bay, WI
High School: Whitefish Bay High School
Major: Undeclared

Mr. Evan Meade
Hometown: San Antonio, TX
High School: Keystone School
Major: Physics

Mr. Navnit Mohan
Hometown: Plano, TX
High School: Plano Senior High School
Major: Neuroscience

Mr. Jake Munch
Hometown: El Cajon, CA
High School: Valhalla High School
Major: Biochemistry

Mr. Zach Neiger
Hometown: Merrick, NY
High School: Sanford H. Calhoun High School
Major: Software Engineering

Mr. Patrick Nnoromele
Hometown: Richmond, KY
High School: Model Laboratory School
Major: Molecular Biology

Ms. Michelle Patten
Hometown: Sammamish, WA
High School: The Bear Creek School
Major: Biomedical Engineering

Ms. Annika Russell
Hometown: La Cañada, CA
High School: La Cañada High School
Major: Cognitive Science

Mr. Kannan Sharma
Hometown: Dallas, TX
High School: St. Mark’s School of Texas
Major: Cognitive Science

Ms. Anja Sheppard
Hometown: Chapel Hill, NC
High School: North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
Major: Computer Science

Ms. Anna Straughan
Hometown: Arvada, CO
High School: Ralston Valley High School
Major: Molecular Biology

Mr. Ben Wise
Hometown: Decatur, GA
High School: Marist School
Major: Visual and Performing Art

Ms. Safiyah Zaidi
Hometown: Austin, TX
High School: McNeil High School
Major: Neuroscience