SCHS produces the highest number among HCPS.
Photo courtesy of Jamie Ferrario
Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS) announced 80 students have been named semifinalists in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program, operated by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. Of this number, 28 are Strawberry Crest High School (SCHS) students. The nearest runner-up had 11 students reach this level. For other schools in Plant City, Kiara L. Lester from Plant City High School, and Erik Mesic from Durant High School also achieved semifinalist status.
“We are incredibly proud of our Hillsborough County students who have been recognized as semifinalists. This is a monumental achievement, and the entire school district celebrates their success,” Superintendent Van Ayres commented.
More than 1.3 million juniors in 20,000 high schools took the 2024 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The semifinalists who scored high enough to qualify represent less than one percent of participants.
“This national recognition is a testament to the academic excellence and dedication of our students, our teachers, and the support of our faculty and families,” Strawberry Crest High School (SCHS) Principal Mark Watson said. “We are incredibly proud of our students and school for leading the way in academic excellence.”
A semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed by a high school official, write an essay, and earn SAT or ACT scores in line with the preliminary test. The 30 Plant City students will continue in the competition for 7,000 scholarships worth $26 million that will be granted in spring 2026. SCHS stood out so far above other schools that it begs for more questions.
Question: What is it about Strawberry Crest, academically and environmentally, that produced so many semifinalists? “The school culture at Strawberry Crest is supportive, with students working closely with staff to balance the rigor of coursework, while continuing to be active in the community,” Watson said. “The staff at Strawberry Crest is committed to preparing students for challenges that universities, colleges, technical schools, or the workforce will present them in life.”
Question: Why these particular students? Are they in a special program or classes? Are their parents very engaged in their educations? Did they take a preparatory class or work together to prepare for the test? These students are in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program at Strawberry Crest,” Watson answered. “Students in this program take academically challenging classes in all subjects, which helps them to advance the skills necessary for success on the PSAT. Students prepare in a variety of ways and are encouraged in the summer between 10th and 11th grade to practice for the PSAT, utilizing practice software or books. Because Strawberry Crest generally produces more than 10 National Merit semifinalists each year, students are very encouraging with each other. Parents and students are invested in academics.”
It is noteworthy that Lester and Mesic earned semifinalist status without the support of the IB program.
The 28 Strawberry Crest High School students who are semifinalists are: Anu Badiger, Ayona Bagui, Sneha Balaji, Shreyashi Bodaka, Shelby L. Bray, Sri Nithya Eriki, Varun M. Gajjar, Arun P. Gottipati, Mahee Gupta, Gaurav Jain, Priyanshu Jha, Ishan H. Kalaria, Hyunmin S. Kim, Andrew M. Oh, Sayali S. Padhye, Radha Panchal, Dev N. Parikh, Adwaith Praveen, Sujay Rajesh, Ashank K. Saravanan, Shruti R. Shankar, Bhavya H. Talati, Vaidehi Tyagi, Vritti A. Udasi, Sahasra Vedhere, Eesha L. Venkatesh, Alexander Y. Wang, and Ashley J. Zhang,
