National Merit Scholarship Winners In Tampa Bay Announced

TAMPA BAY, FL — National Merit Scholarship Corp. announced more than 2,600 winners of National Merit Scholarships financed by U.S. colleges and universities.

Officials of each sponsor college selected their scholarship winners from among the finalists
in the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program who plan to attend their institution. These
awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study
at the institution financing the scholarship.

An additional group of scholars will be announced in July, bringing the total number of college-sponsored Merit Scholarship recipients in the 2022 competition to about 4,000.

This year, 155 higher education institutions are underwriting Merit Scholarship awards through the National Merit Scholarship Program. Sponsor colleges and universities include 82 private and 73 public institutions in 42 states and the District of Columbia.

High school juniors entered the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program when they took
the 2020 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which
served as an initial screen of program entrants.

Last fall, more than 16,000 semifinalists were named on a state-representational basis in numbers proportional to each state’s percentage of the national total of graduating high school seniors.

Semifinalists were the highest-scoring program entrants in each state and represented less than 1 percent of the nation’s seniors.

To compete for Merit Scholarship awards, semifinalists first had to advance to the finalist level of the competition by fulfilling additional requirements. Each semifinalist was asked to submit a detailed scholarship application, which included writing an essay and providing information about extracurricular activities, awards and leadership positions.

Semifinalists also had to have an outstanding academic record, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, and earn SAT or ACT scores that confirmed the qualifying test performance.

From the semifinalist group, more than 15,000 met requirements for finalist standing, and about half of the finalists will be Merit Scholarship winners in 2022.

• Taylor M. Galloway of Belleair Beach, who graduated from Clearwater Central Catholic High School and plans to major in medicine at the University of Florida.
• Aaron J. Rubaii of Clearwater, who graduated from Osceola High School in Seminole. He plans to major in law at the University of Florida.
• Kai A. Rubach of Dunedin, who graduated from St. Petersburg Collegiate High School in Tarpon Springs, and plans to pursue pharmaceutical science at the University of Florida.
• Aahan Dwivedi of Land O' Lakes, who graduated from Hillsborough High School and plans to major in physics at the University of Florida.
• Evelyn S. Colon of Largo who graduated from Largo High School and plans to pursue computer science at the University of Florida.
• Leo P. Melson of Lutz, who graduated from Middleton High School and plans to pursue computer engineering at the University of Central Florida.
• Lily Viet of Lutz, who graduated from King High School and plans to pursue biomedicine at the University of South Florida.
• Sylwia Kwasny of Palm Harbor, who graduated from Palm Harbor University High School and plans to pursue graphic design at the University of Florida.
• Cole John Mackey of Palm Harbor, who graduated from Palm Harbor University High School, and plans to major in biomedicine at the University of Florida.
• Brooke Adele Reed of Palm Harbor, who graduated from Palm Harbor University High School, and will major in interior design at the University of Florida.
• Hannah G. Tan of Safety Harbor, who graduated from Palm Harbor University High School and is majoring in law at the University of Florida.
• Chloe S. Bailey of Tampa, who graduated from Robinson High School, and is majoring in biomedical engineering at Boston University.
• Emily C. Brenning of Tampa, who graduated from Robinson High School, and is majoring in aviation at Embry-Riddle.
• Madeline P. Browy of Tampa, who graduated from Plant High School, and is majoring in education at the University of Florida.
• Dylan M. Chuang of Tampa, who graduated from Hillsborough High School, and is majoring in mechanical engineering at the University of Florida.
• Laura C. Jung of Tampa, who graduated from the Academy of Holy Names, and is majoring in biomedical engineering at Vanderbilt University.
• Keval K. Kataria of Tampa, who graduated from Middleton High School, and is majoring in applied mathematics at the University of South Florida.
• Akhilesh Peddu of Tampa, who graduated from Middleton High School, and is majoring in architecture at the University of Florida.
• Nathan V. Pham of Tampa, who graduated from Robinson High School, and is majoring in engineering at the University of Florida.
• Jhagadeswara Rao Rajavarapu of Tampa, who graduated from Plant High School and plans to major in pediatrics at the University of Florida.
• Vivian Rao of Tampa, who graduated from Steinbrenner High School and is attending the University of Florida.
• John A. Reilly of Tampa, who graduated from Berkeley Preparatory School and plans to major in mechanical engineering at Purdue University.
• Anika Riazudeen of Tampa, who graduated from Universal Academy of Florida and plans to major in biomedicine at the University of South Florida.
• Ananya V. Sista of Tampa, who graduated from Middleton High School and plans to major in computer science at the University of Florida.
• Satvik Vippatoori of Tampa, who graduated from King High School and plans to major in computer science at the University of Florida.
• Andrew B. Wilson of Tampa, who graduated from Jesuit High School and plans to major in engineering at the University of Florida.
• Ryan Sydney Shaw of Thonotosassa, who graduated from Berkeley Preparatory School and plans to major in medicine at the University of South Florida.
• Rishabh D. Thakkar of Thonotosassa, who graduated from Strawberry Crest High School, and plans to major in medicine at the University of Florida.
• Cade A. Finney of Treasure Island, who graduated from St. Petersburg High School in St. Petersburg, and plans to major in nuclear engineering at the University of Florida.
• Kenneth P. Chew of Wesley Chapel, who graduated from Pasco High School and plans to major in computer programming at the University of Florida.