Duval County announces 28 high school seniors as semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program. Representing Fletcher, Mandarin, Paxon, Stanton, and Wolfson high schools, these students stand out among over 16,000 nationwide contenders for this distinguished recognition, Duval County Public Schools reported.
The semifinalists were chosen based on their scores on the PSAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which was taken by more than 1.3 million juniors. These students now have the opportunity to compete for 6,930 scholarships totaling nearly $26 million. To advance, each semifinalist must submit an application highlighting their academic achievements, leadership skills, and community involvement.
"We are incredibly proud of our students for this remarkable achievement," Duval County Public Schools said in the announcement. The journey continues for these semifinalists, with finalists set to be announced in February 2026 and scholarship recipients revealed in April 2026.
Recognizing the local semifinalists who reflect a wide range of academic achievement in the community: Fletcher High is represented by Ethan G. Peele and Anne T. Prevatt. Mandarin High’s semifinalists include Dennis Koti, Charlotte M. Rollins, and Joshua A. Smith. Paxon has Saige G. Higgins. Stanton features a strong group with Alan M. Alwakeel, Karthik Ancha, Rijul Ashar, Aashvi Das, Luke P. Dearing, Carmen Felix, Aarohi K. Gadre, Lindsay M. Johnson, Edward R. Jucker, Aayush I. Krishna, James M. Leiby, Ramsagar Menon, Suhaan S. Palakamshetty, Shreyas Pendem, Indiana-Jones A. Pulumbarit, Samuel D. Sapatla, Amina H. Umar, Pranavi Vanga, and Om Verma. Lastly, Wolfson’s semifinalists include Graham R. Glasheen, Amber S. Lee, Emerson W. Mercer, Kai E. Okada, and Zoe P. Porter-Keefer.
