Forty outstanding graduating high school students have been selected by the William G. and Marie Selby Foundation to represent the 2026 Selby Scholars class. Each will receive a scholarship award up to $7,000 for each year of college toward the total cost of attendance, based on individual student need.
Selby Scholars have demonstrated academic preparedness and rigor, resourcefulness, grit, and desire to use their education to help others. Community volunteers including representatives from local youth-serving organizations, higher education, and Selby Scholar alumni worked both together and independently to select in the competitive process, which included an application and an interview.
Throughout their college experience, Selby Scholars have access to special opportunities such as student-designed activities to connect and share their experiences; mentor matching with professionals in their fields of study; and learning sessions in requested areas such as mental health, financial literacy, and time management.
Twenty-five 2026 Selby Scholars are first-generation students, the first in their immediate families to go to college.
Selby Scholars’ diverse majors at universities across the United States and Florida include disciplines that position them to succeed in our rapidly changing environment in careers or continued post-secondary education. They include Chemistry, Astrophysics, Global Business, Marketing, Elementary Education, Neuroscience, Nursing, and Urban Planning.
The 2026 Selby Scholars were celebrated with their families and guardians on May 11, 2026 at the Carlisle Inn in Sarasota. They are:
- Aicha Altimimi | University of Florida | Criminology
- Zuleyma Barragan Cisneros | University of South Florida | Global Business: Marketing
- Sydney Bowers | University of South Florida | Environmental Science
- Franklin Boyer | University of Florida | Astrophysics
- Shaliana Bravo Monteagudo | Barnard College | Political Science
- Hannah Bui | University of Florida | Biology
- Milordjie Cassion | Duquesne University | Nursing
- Isabella Castro-Cardona | Yale University | Ethics, Politics, and Economics
- Orianna Contreras | University of Central Florida | Criminal Justice
- Sloan Cox | American University | International Studies
- Addison Croy | Florida State University | Criminology
- Brianna Diaz Batista | State College of Florida | Psychology
- Liam Dingman | Harvard University | Chemistry
- Evan Espinosa | Lipscomb University | Biochemistry
- Joycelyn Floyd | Stetson University | Marketing; International Business
- Taís Gadar | University of Florida | Animal Sciences (Pre-Vet)
- Prabhav Govindu | Georgia Institute of Technology | Mechanical Engineering
- Maysam Hageltoum | University of South Florida | Finance
- Benjamin Hertz | University of Florida | Microbiology and Genetics
- Yarely Hidalgo-Ibarra | University of South Florida | Architecture; Urban & Regional Planning
- Jontayvia Howard | Florida Institute of Technology | Aeronautical Science (Flight)
- Sophia Keita | University of South Florida | Nursing
- Dayanny Kinsley | Middlebury College | Neuroscience
- Paige Kressin | Virginia Military Institute | Business and Economics
- Jack LeMin | University of South Florida | Finance
- Giuseppe Monteleone | Florida Gulf Coast University | Secondary Social Science Education
- Samara Nascimento | University of South Florida | History
- Maya Noon Rahal | University of South Florida | Biochemistry
- Anahi Padron | Florida Gulf Coast University | Nursing
- Nanzy Ramirez-Moreno | University of South Florida | Elementary Education
- Nataly Ramirez-Moreno | University of Central Florida | Clinical Psychology
- Sebastian Rivas Barazarte | Florida International University | Computer Science
- Cristal Saavedra-Rivera | Ringling College of Art and Design | Illustration
- Santiago Sanabria Gonzalez | University of Miami | Architecture
- Janet Segura-Olvera | South Florida State College | Nursing
- Sincere Skinner | Florida International University | Computer Science
- Arista Turner | University of South Florida | Biological Health Sciences
- Sergio Benjamin Valdes | State College of Florida | Engineering
- Kemely Valdes Morales | University of South Florida | Health Science
- Amelia Zach | University of South Florida | Biomedical Sciences