Five Pinellas students earn prestigious $2,500 National Merit Scholarships

May 7, 2025

The National Merit® Scholarship Corporation has announced the 2025 winners. The Merit Scholars were chosen from a pool of more than 15,000 outstanding finalists. The winning students have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies.

Congratulations to Pinellas County Schools $2,500 National Merit Scholarship Recipients:

• Charles Oberlander, Largo High School - Probable career field: Biochemistry
• Sage A. Summers, St. Petersburg High School - Probable career field: Medicine
• Arina Pushnikova, Palm Harbor University High School - Probable career field: Materials Engineering
• Anna S. Ling, Palm Harbor University High School - Probable career field: Medical Research
• Nicholas C. Watts, Lakewood High School - Probable career field: Aerospace Engineering

This announcement marks the second round of winners in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program. The Corporate-Sponsored National Merit Scholars were announced in April, with additional college-sponsored Merit Scholarship winners set to be revealed in June and July.

This year’s National Merit Scholarship Program began in October 2023 when high school juniors took the PSAT/NMSQT, which served as an initial screening process. Last fall, the highest-scoring participants in each state were named semifinalists. From that group, 15,000 students met the high academic standards and other requirements to advance to the finalist level of the competition. By the conclusion of the 2025 program, more than 6,930 finalists will have earned the “Merit Scholar” title.

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1955. The majority of scholarships offered each year are underwritten by approximately 280 independent corporate and college sponsors.