Staff Report

ROCKFORD – A 2019 Auburn High School graduate has won a National Merit Scholarship, Rockford Public Schools announced Wednesday. 

Lael Verace is one of 3,500 winners of the prestigious award given by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. The scholarships provides between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship.

Verace was one of four Auburn Gifted Academy students nominated for the scholarship last fall. He plans to to attend the University of Alabama and study physics.

his is the third announcement from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation naming 2019 National Merit Scholars. Additional recipients of college-sponsored awards will be announced on July 15. By the conclusion of this year’s competition, about 7,600 academic champions will have won National Merit Scholarships worth more than $31 million.