Five Hempfield High School students earned National Merit recognition. Three of the students were identified as 2023 National Merit semifinalists, and two students were named 2023 National Merit Commended students. High school juniors entered the 2023 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2021 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which served as an initial screen of program entrants.

The National Merit semifinalists are Daniel Hufnagle, Riana Ramani, and Jenna Yaeger. Students selected as National Merit semifinalists are the highest-scoring entrants in each state. Semifinalists have the opportunity to continue in the program to qualify as finalists from which all National Merit Scholarship winners will be selected next spring.

The National Merit Commended students are Grant Decker and Julia Glass. Commended students are recognized for the exceptional academic promise demonstrated by their outstanding performance on the qualifying test used for program entry. They will not continue in the competition for National Merit Scholarships.