12 Pinellas students earn prestigious National Merit Scholarships

June 4, 2025

The National Merit® Scholarship Corporation has announced the 2025 winners of college-sponsored Merit Scholarships. Twelve Pinellas students earned the prestigious honor. College-sponsored Merit Scholarship winners are a part of a distinguished group of high school seniors. They were chosen from a pool of more than 15,000 outstanding finalists. 

Colleges and universities include 74 private and 72 public institutions located in 42 states and the District of Columbia.

Congratulations to Pinellas County Schools National Merit Scholarship Winners:

• Alexander Briceno, Countryside High, University of South Florida Scholarship, Probable career field: Computer Systems Analysis
• Grayson Burns, Largo High, University of Florida Scholarship, Probable career field: Mechanical Engineering
• Katherine R. Currence, Palm Harbor University High, University of Florida Scholarship, Probable career field: Accounting
  Patricia Crews, Largo High, Florida State University Scholarship, Probable career field: Law
• Spencer C. Dayton, Palm Harbor University High, University of Florida Scholarship, Probable career field: Mechanical Engineering
• Sophia K. de Koter, Palm Harbor University High, University of South Florida Scholarship, Probable career field: Nutrition/Dietetics
• Malcolm Dupuis, East Lake High, University of Central Florida Scholarship, Probable career field: Electrical Engineering
• Leland P. Kilborn, Lakewood High, University of South Florida Scholarship, Probable career field: Linguistics
• Olivia Nguyen, Palm Harbor University High, University of Florida Scholarship, Probable career field: Medicine
• Carter Timmons, East Lake High, University of Florida Scholarship, Probable career field: Computer Engineering
• Lucas D. Restom Gaskill, Lakewood High, University of Florida Scholarship, Probable career field: Computer Engineering
• Kaitlyn H. Weise, Largo High, University of Florida Scholarship, Probable career field: Chemical Engineering

This announcement marks the third round of winners in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program. 

The awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study. An additional group of scholars will be announced in 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.