Countywide : 6 in County Win Merit Scholarships

Six 1992 Orange County high school graduates are among the 1,300 winners of the annual Merit Scholarship award.

The winners will receive scholarships ranging from $250 to $2,000 for each year of study.

The winners were selected from a total of more than 1.1 million participants representing 19,000 U.S. high schools. The finalists, narrowed down to a field of 14,000, were top scorers in the 1990 Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test and also met additional requirements such as having high academic standards and being endorsed by their school.

The following are the Orange County winners:

* Christina A. Lee of Anaheim is a graduate of Canyon High School and was a member of the National Honors Society for three years. She plans to attend UCLA and pursue a career in psychology and child development.

* Quang L. Nguyen of Irvine attended University High School and was a four-year member of the Principal’s Honor Roll. Nguyen will attend UC Irvine and plans to pursue a career in medicine.

* Jill M. Ray of Mission Viejo is a graduate of Capistrano Valley High School and is a lifetime member of the California Scholastic Federation. Ray plans to attend UCLA, where she intends to major in mechanical engineering.

* Oliver E. Althoen of Santa Ana is a graduate of Foothill High School, where he was a member of the school’s French and Latin clubs. He plans to attend the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, where he will study natural resource management.

* Scott E. Smith of Tustin is a graduate of Tustin High School, where he was among the top 2% academically and a recipient of the Tandy Technology Scholars Outstanding Student Award. He plans to attend UCLA, where he will study biochemistry.

* Julie M. Dalton of Westminster attended Marina High School in Huntington Beach. She was a member of the school newspaper reporting staff and a Student of the Year winner. She plans to attend Rice University and major in engineering and history.