Fredericks, Riley earn National Merit awards

There are two local students among this year's National Merit $2,500 Scholarship winners.

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced Tuesday that William L. Fredericks, a Coeur d'Alene Charter Academy student from Dalton Gardens, and Shannon Riley, a Kootenai High School student from Harrison, have each been awarded one of the $2,500 scholarships.

The scholarship designees were chosen from a pool of more than 15,000 outstanding finalists in the 2014 National Merit Scholarship Program. Finalists are judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies.