June 3, 2020
Ten PCS graduating seniors earned 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 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program who plan to attend their institution. These scholarships provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship. District scholarship winners are:
- Ethan N. Nguyen, Lakewood High, National Merit University of Central Florida Scholarship
- Joshua R. Mott, Largo High, National Merit University of Florida Scholarship
- Noelle Esposito, East Lake High, National Merit University of Florida Scholarship
- Mateusz Plaza, Palm Harbor University High, National Merit University of Florida Scholarship
- Charles B. Phillips, Largo High, National Merit Florida State University Scholarship
- Haidyn C. Sekeres, Largo High, National Merit University of Florida Scholarship
- Paul G. Fernandez, St. Petersburg High, National Merit University of Florida Scholarship
- Aidan B. Higgs, St. Petersburg High, National Merit University of Florida Scholarship
- Sophia H. Hirst, St. Petersburg High, National Merit University of Florida Scholarship
- Sebastian P. Newell, St. Petersburg High, National Merit University of Florida Scholarship
College-sponsored Merit Scholarship winners are a part of the distinguished group of about 7,600 high school seniors who will receive National Merit Scholarships for college undergraduate study worth over $30 million. Earlier this spring, NMSC announced winners of corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards and National Merit $2,500 Scholarships.
Over 1.5 million juniors in approximately 21,000 high schools entered the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program when they took the 2018 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®). Last fall, approximately 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 one 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. From the Semifinalist group, some 15,000 met requirements for Finalist standing, and about half of the Finalists will be Merit Scholarship winners in 2020.
