WEST PALM BEACH — The South Florida Fair awarded $83,500 to 25  high school students from five local counties during a ceremony with fair dignitaries and their families. Sponsored by FPL, the presentation  occurred during the 2025 Fair.

The scholarships ranged from $2,000 to $4,000 in four categories: general, agriculture, nursing and fine arts. The scholarship money can be used at any accredited institution of higher learning or trade school. The fair’s scholarship committee selected the winners based on the students’ grades, need, and an essay addressing their educational plans, career goals, what inspires them to achieve them and what makes them stand out differently from their peers.

Since the program began in 1982, the Fair has awarded a total of more than $938,500 in scholarship money, continuing a 42-year tradition of supporting education.

Students from Palm Beach, Broward, Martin, Hendry and Okeechobee counties were eligible to apply. The Fair’s scholarship committee interviewed each finalist and then selected the winners. The committee was led by Chair Donna Winterson and Vice Chair Christine Shaw. The committee members were Annis Manning, Bill Sneed, Charity Lewis, Dan Lewis, Eva Webb, John Severson, Jorge Avellana, Lee Glaze, Lisa Johnson, Mabel Datena, Robi Jurney, Sarah Hoadley, Shawna Ahmad, Sheyla Zayas Torralbes and Tiffany Faublas.

The 2025 scholarship recipients were Isabella Carillo, Okeechobee High School, Okeechobee; Jonathan Clein, Suncoast High School, Wellington; Dakota Dean, Forest Hill High School, Lake Clarke Shores; Dwight Downie, Okeechobee High School, Okeechobee; Matthew Doyle, Suncoast High School, Wellington; Isabella Farrell, Wellington High School, Wellington; Sophia Feuer, Dreyfoos School of the Arts, Lake Clarke Shores; Trenton Felton, Clewiston High School, Clewiston; Isabella Gilberto-Luna, Palm Beach Lakes, West Palm Beach; Evelyn Gonzalez Suferri, John I Leonard, West Palm Beach; Jennifer Han, Palm Beach Central, Wellington; Hailey Harden, Okeechobee High School, Okeechobee; Isabella Hernandez-Lozano, Royal Palm Beach High School, West Palm Beach; Tanmay Mahani, Suncoast High School, West Palm Beach; Angelica Mejia, John I. Leonard, West Palm Beach; Lydia Park, Dreyfoos School of the Arts, West Palm Beach; Jayden Ramos, Glades Day School, Belle Glade; Elizabeth Robles, Pahokee High School, Belle Glade; Jordan Ruiz, Kings Academy, Boynton Beach; Yocelin Santiso, John I. Leonard, Greenacres; John Smith, South Fork High School, Indiantown; Krisztina Tolotti, Fort Lauderdale High School, Fort Lauderdale; Daniel Tovar, John I. Leonard, Lake Worth; Amelia Welch, Olympic Heights, Boynton Beach; and Catherine Zhao, American Heritage, Boca Raton.

The South Florida Fair is produced by the South Florida Fair & Palm Beach County Expositions, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, and has a longstanding tradition of raising funds for educational and charitable purposes. Located at 9067 Southern Boulevard in West Palm Beach, the 2025 South Florida Fair kicked off with its Ride-A-Thon on Jan. 16 and the full fair was held Jan. 17-Feb. 2. For more information, call 561-793-0333 or visit the website,
https://www.southfloridafair.com.