The 2023 National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced the names of the first group of winners, with Nirav Banerji, a senior at Edward E. Clark High School, the sole winner from Nevada, to win a corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarship.

Besides challenging magnet school academics, Banerji participates in numerous non-academic extracurricular activities. As a senior at Clark High School, Banerji is a passionate and proud thespian who has participated in several school plays, such as Mamma Mia and Into the Heights.

He is a lifelong accomplished pianist who has enjoyed competing in local piano competitions. Most recently, Banerji, after winning the piano competition by the Henderson Symphony Orchestra, was selected to perform the first movement, Saint-Saens Concerto No. 2. “I love how music is shaped by frequently diverging interpretations. I like to be meticulous in my practicing, expressing each and every detail to the fullest extent,” said Banerji in a statement to the Henderson Symphony Orchestra.

Recently he received the AP Scholar with Distinction Award and scored in the top 1% of students nationwide on the SAT and ACT. “I am fascinated by STEM; the arts will always maintain an integral presence in my life,” said Banerji.

Banerji plans to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Sciences at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI),Troy, NY. 

Banerji’s National Merit Award is sponsored by Walgreen Co., the nation’s largest and fastest-growing drugstore chain. Scholars were selected from students who advanced to the Finalist level in the National Merit Scholarship competition and met the criteria of their scholarship sponsors.