The National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced more than 3,300 winners, including eight from the Ponte Vedra area, 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 2020 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 2020 competition to about 4,100.
This year, 167 higher education institutions are underwriting Merit Scholarship awards through the National Merit Scholarship Program. Sponsor colleges and universities include 92 private and 75 public institutions located in 43 states and the District of Columbia.
Local National Merit Scholars are:
Leon A. Durante, Nease High. Probable career field: Foreign Language at the University of Florida.
Diana Feier, Ponte Vedra High. Probable career field: Medicine at the University of Florida.
Christopher T. Nelson, Ponte Vedra High. Probable career field: Music at Oberline College.
Julianne E. Owen, Ponte Vedra High. Probable career field: Aerospace Engineering at the University of Florida.
Camille Aguilar, Nease High. Probable career field: Epidemiology at the University of Miami.
Grace M. Bachmann, Nease High. Probable career field: Mathematics at the University of Florida.
Sanya Bansal, Nease High. Probable career field: Medicine at the University of Central Florida.
Victoria T. Vo, Ponte Vedra High. Probable career field: Biology at the University of Florida.
The majority of National Merit Scholarships provided each year are made possible by the support of approximately 400 independent corporate and college sponsors. These sponsors join NMSC in its efforts to enhance educational opportunities for America’s scholastically talented youth and to encourage the pursuit of academic excellence.
