Posted by Tanya Arja or Jennifer Holton on 6/7/2023 2:30:00 PM

For Immediate Release 

Contact:   Tanya Arja or Jennifer Holton  
                         Hillsborough County Public Schools  
                         Office of Communications 
                         813-272-4060 

Tampa, Fl. (June 7, 2023) –The National Merit Scholarship Corporation has announced over 3,000 winners of the National Merit Scholarships financed by U.S. colleges and universities, 61 of which attend Hillsborough County Public Schools. Officials of each sponsor college selected their scholarship winners from the Finalists in the 2023 National Merit Scholarship program who plan to attend their institution. 

This year, 153 higher education institutions are underwriting Merit Scholarship awards through the National Merit Scholarship Program. Sponsor colleges and universities include 81 private and 72 public institutions located in 42 states and the District of Columbia. These awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship. 

The most recent National Merit Scholars were selected by a committee based on their academic records, PSAT scores, essays, and potential for success in college. Nine students attend Strawberry Crest High School, eight attend Middleton High School, seven attend Robinson High School, and six attend Plant High School and King High School.  

Student scholarship winners also attend Steinbrenner, Newsome, Blake, Durant, Freedom, Gaither, Bloomingdale, Lennard, Sumner, Sickles, Alonso, and Hillsborough high schools.

“The number of Hillsborough County Public Schools students who received National Merit Scholarships this year exceeds three times the number of graduates last year,” said Superintendent Addison Davis. “These 61 students achieved their scholarship wins out of thousands of entrants from across the country. Our entire Hillsborough County Schools community applauds your efforts as you begin this new journey.”

The National Merit Scholars include: 

  1. Jasmine A. Cheong, Lennard High School: University of Central Florida 

  2. Britney M. Wagner, Lennard High School: University of Tulsa 

  3. Katherine G. Blessing, Middleton High School: University of Florida 

  4. Kinsley G. Trlak, Durant High School: University of South Florida 

  5. Eileen J. Jelsovsky, Durant High School: University of South Florida 

  6. Avaneesh S. Venkatesh, Strawberry Crest High School: University of Florida 

  7. Sophia N. Florea, Newsome High School: University of Florida 

  8. Tanushree R. Hadavale, Newsome High School: University of Florida 

  9. Dana G. John, Strawberry Crest High School: University of Florida 

  10. Chloe E. Jones, Strawberry Crest High School: University of South Florida 

  11. Sebastian Nathanson, Newsome High School: University of Florida 

  12. John P. O'Toole, Newsome High School: University of Central Florida 

  13. Vasanth R. Srinivasan, Newsome High School: University of Central Florida 

  14. Pranav Tammineedi, Middleton High School: University of South Florida 

  15. Louis F. Li, Steinbrenner High School: University of Florida 

  16. Andrew J. Maroun, Steinbrenner High School: University of South Florida 

  17. Lily A. Taylor, Hillsborough High School: University of Florida 

  18. Kaitlyn H. Tran, Hillsborough High School: University of Florida 

  19. Leina E. Owens, Blake High School: University of Florida  

  20. Jessica E. Afiat, Freedom High School: University of Florida 

  21. Saeed U. Ansari, Middleton High School: University of Florida 

  22. Grace S. Barrett, Robinson High School: University of Florida 

  23. Presley R. Berman, Robinson High School: University of Florida 

  24. Oliver Stacey Cheese, Middleton High School: Florida State University 

  25. Adam Yifeng Cheng, King High School: University of Florida 

  26. Lane G. Chin, Hillsborough High School: University of Florida 

  27. Taban C. Chin, Hillsborough High School: University of Florida  

  28. Lucca Benettie de Castro, Sickles High School: University of Florida 

  29. Scout F. DeMinico, Plant High School: University of Florida 

  30. Leyna T. Doan, Robinson High School: University of Florida 

  31. Arshan M. Falasiri, Plant High School: University of Florida 

  32. Jacob W. Han, Robinson High School: University of Georgia 

  33. Ananya C. Harshe, King High School: University of Florida 

  34. Kevin J. Huang, Plant High School: University of Miami  

  35. Andrew W. Jenkins, Alonso High School: University of Alabama 

  36. Kevin Jin, King High School: University of Florida 

  37. Prabhath Kolli, Strawberry Crest High School: University of Florida 

  38. Pranav V. Kulkarni, Middleton High School: University of Florida 

  39. Yining Liu, Hillsborough High School: University of Florida 

  40. Leo N. Meng, Strawberry Crest High School: University of Florida 

  41. Vivian A. Mesa, Robinson High School: University of Florida 

  42. Natalie L. Meyer, Plant High School: University of Florida 

  43. Yun Joo M. Noh, Hillsborough High School: University of Florida 

  44. Benjamin D. Norbom, Plant High School: University of Florida 

  45. Clara M. Oh, King High School, University of Florida 

  46. Ishan K. Patel, Middleton High School: University of South Florida 

  47. Luis M. Perez, King High School, University of Florida 

  48. Praveen H. Prabaharan, Robinson High School, University of Florida 

  49. Britney S. Pun, Freedom High School University of Florida 

  50. Suraj Raghunathan, Middleton High School: University of Florida 

  51. Amulya Ravipati, Strawberry Crest High School: University of Florida 

  52. Isabella M. Rodrigues, Robinson High School: University of Florida 

  53. Karthik Sara, Middleton High School: University of South Florida 

  54. Olivia West, Gaither High School: University of Florida 

  55. Hannah K. Woodside, Plant High School: University of Florida 

  56. Mahika Balaraju, Strawberry Crest High School: University of Florida 

  57. Isabella A. Larson, Bloomingdale, High School: University of Florida 

  58. Shalini Nandam, Strawberry Crest High School: University of Florida 

  59. Rahil D. Zaveri, Strawberry Crest High School: University of Florida  

  60. Megha Manoj, King High School: University of Florida 

  61. Ethan J. Varn, Sumner High School: University of South Florida