Art competition winner
Wiregrass Ranch High School student Anna Speer has been selected as the 2020 winner of the Congressional Art Competition, which recognizes and encourages artistic talent among high school students in Florida’s 12th Congressional District. Speer’s oil painting, ‘Reflections,’ will hang in the U.S. Capitol over the next year. She was nominated by teacher Paula Roush-Smith.
Other award winners: Nathan Wang, Land O’ Lakes High: Award of Merit; and, Sarah Evans, Kara Galley and Kiley Gambrel-Groover, Mitchel High: Honorable Mentions.
Donation drive
Pasco County Tax Collector Mike Fasano’s five offices will be collecting donations during July for the Pasco County School District’s ABC (Assist, Believe & Care) Program, which was created to provide financial assistance to students and their families who are experiencing economic hardship.
Money donated goes into a fund that teachers can use when they see or learn of a need a child may have.
Cash donations may be made at any of the tax collector locations in Pasco County.
For information on the ABC campaign and other charitable giving programs, call Assistant Tax Collector Greg Giordano at (727) 847-8179, or visit PascoTaxes.com.
College-sponsored merit winners
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced more than 3,300 winners 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.
The awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship.
These area students are recipients of a college-sponsored award:
- Steven Miltenberger, Land O’ Lakes, Land O’ Lakes High School: National Merit University of Florida Scholarship. Probable career field: computer science.
- Emily Flinter, Lutz, Carrollwood Day School: National Merit Emory University Scholarship. Probable career field: medicine.
- Rebekah Hurwitz, Lutz, Steinbrenner High School: National Merit University of Florida Scholarship. Probable career field: actuarial science.
- Vivek Kondapavuluru, Lutz, Hillsborough High School: National Merit University of Florida Scholarship. Probable career field: medicine.
- Zachary Melson, Lutz, Middleton High School: National Merit University of Florida Scholarship. Probable career field: undecided.
- Rana Xen Scherer, Lutz, Steinbrenner High School: National Merit University of Central Florida Scholarship. Probable career field: electrical engineering.
- Nicholas Gray, Dade City, Pasco High School: National Merit University of Central Florida Scholarship. Probable career field: computer science.
- Riya Choski, Odessa, Gulf High School: National Merit University of South Florida Scholarship. Probable career field: medicine.
- Bethany Bradshaw, Trinity, Mitchell High School: National Merit University of Central Florida Scholarship. Probable career field: aerospace engineering.
- Dustin Rendell, Trinity, Mitchell High School: National Merit University of Florida Scholarship. Probable career field: medicine.
- Shannon Chen, Wesley Chapel, Land O’ Lakes High School: National Merit University of Florida Scholarship. Probable career field: dentistry.
- Mindy Do, Wesley Chapel, Cypress Creek High School: National Merit University of South Florida Scholarship. Probable career field: health care.
- Achyudhan Kutuva, Wesley Chapel, Land O’ Lakes High School: National Merit University of Florida Scholarship. Probable career field: science/research.
• Stanley Moonjeli, Wesley Chapel, Land O’ Lakes High School: National Merit University of Florida Scholarship. Probable career field: mechanical engineering (robotics)
Back-to-school bash
Westfield Citrus Park, 8021 Citrus Park Town Center in Tampa, will host a Full Inclusion Back-to-School Bash on July 18 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event focuses on families with both neuro-diverse and neuro-typical children.
There will be a “Quiet Hour” when the ‘doors’ open an hour prior to the event for children on the spectrum or with sensory disorders. Both vendors and guests are asked to wear masks, but a DIY mask-making station will be provided. There also will be a touchless photo booth with characters, and plexiglass partitions on tables.
Families must register in advance for a child to receive a backpack. Some vendors will offer school supplies and take-home activities. Admission and all school supplies (while supplies last) are free.
For information and to register, call (727) 674-1464, or visit EventBrite.com.
