Inaugural Cohort of 83 High-Achieving High School Students from Low-Income Communities Across 14 States and the District of Columbia Named Carnegie Merit Scholars
NEW YORK, Oct. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the National Education Opportunity Network (NEON), with support from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation, announced the launch of the Carnegie Merit Scholars Initiative and the induction of its inaugural cohort of scholars. The new national initiative recognizes students who have excelled in rigorous college courses while still in high school and invests in their potential to make a meaningful difference in their communities and beyond.
The year-long initiative builds on students' academic excellence to cultivate the next generation of civic leaders, equipping them with the skills, networks, and opportunities to make a difference in their communities. Throughout the year, they will participate in monthly skill-building workshops led by prominent university faculty and national experts. Topics range from leadership fundamentals and civic advocacy to digital branding and public communication. As part of the curriculum, scholars will design and execute a Civic Capstone Project to address key issues in their local communities.
"We know that extraordinary talent exists in high schools across the country, including in our nation's lowest-income communities," said NEON Founder and CEO Leslie Cornfeld. "Through the Carnegie Merit Scholars Initiative, we're celebrating what these students have already accomplished and investing in their potential to shape the future as civic leaders."
Selected from a nationwide pool of thousands of NEON scholars, Carnegie Merit Scholars are high school juniors and seniors from low-income communities who earned Valedictorian or Salutatorian honors or ranked in the top 1% of their college courses. Through NEON, students take actual college courses from top colleges and universities, including Wharton, Howard, Duke, and Dartmouth, with courses taught by university faculty and brought directly into their high schools at no cost to students.
"The Andrew Carnegie Foundation is proud to support NEON in honoring these exceptional young leaders," said Saskia Levy Thompson, a Program Director for Education at the Andrew Carnegie Foundation. "By opening doors to higher education and leadership development, we are helping put these scholars' immense talent to work in ways that will transform both their individual trajectories and the communities they serve."
The inaugural class of Carnegie Merit Scholars will be formally inducted during a national virtual celebration on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, featuring remarks from NEON leadership, Andrew Carnegie Foundation representatives, and NEON alumni. Each participating scholar will receive a $300 stipend alongside personalized mentorship and networking opportunities.
About the Andrew Carnegie Foundation
The Andrew Carnegie Foundation was established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding. Today the foundation works to reduce political polarization through philanthropic support for the issues that Carnegie considered most important: education, democracy, and peace. Carnegie.org
About the National Education Opportunity Network
The National Education Opportunity Network (NEON) is a nonprofit committed to propelling economic mobility for talented high school students in low-income communities nationwide. Through its network of top colleges and universities, NEON brings actual college courses, taught by university faculty, directly into Title I and Title I-eligible high schools—at scale and at no cost to students. Since launching in 2019, NEON has reached nearly 70,000 students from more than 600 low-income high schools, and is on track to reach 1 million students within the next decade.
SOURCE National Education Opportunity Network
Share this article