Pierce, Williams Earn National Merit Scholarships

Altamont School 2024 graduates Claudia Williams and Riley Pierce have earned prestigious National Merit Scholarships. They are among only 2,500 Merit Scholar designees chosen from a talent pool of more than 15,000 outstanding Finalists in the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program.

Pierce also is a recipient of a National African American Recognition Award (NAARA) from the College Board National Recognition Programs, was Salutatorian for Altamont’s Class of 2024, was U.S. Lacrosse All Academic American, All-State Lacrosse First Team and a team captain for the State Champion Vestavia Hills Lacrosse Organization. He will continue both his lacrosse career and academic achievement at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) starting this fall.

The National Merit Indiana University Bloomington Scholarship will take Williams to Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music this fall, where she will study Oboe Performance in the studio of Linda Strommen, and double-major in political science. The accomplished multi-instrumentalist has earned many extracurricular and school honors, including Altamont’s 2024 Sophia Mize Clifford Music Award and the honor for most outstanding Upper School Mandarin student.