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Once she graduates in May, the National Merit Scholarship finalist plans to leave Nebraska for college in Minnesota, which enacted protections for gender-affirming care earlier this year.

One concerned the geographic rich-poor financial gap, and the other demonstrated a parallel geographic gap among the National Merit Scholarship Program semifinalist students.

Thirty-eight students at Interlake High School, a public school in Bellevue, are National Merit Scholarship Program semifinalists, making Interlake the school with the highest number of semifinalists in Washington state.

Reid also announced a new division-wide process for high schools to ensure students are notified of all National Merit Scholarship honors in the future.

The top scorers are named finalists or semifinalists, meaning they can compete for a National Merit Scholarship award.