{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://castor.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=403451", "U.S. Rep. Castor announces her 2020 nominations to U.S. military academies", "2020-11-30", "2020", "2020-11", "Democrat", "House", "FL", "Kathy Castor", "C001066", "castor.house.gov", "castor", "https://castor.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx", "scraper", "Today, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (FL14) announced 24 students representing more than a dozen local high schools received nominations for admission into our nation\u2019s military academies: Air Force (USAFA), Navy (USNA), Army (USMA) and Merchant Marine (USMMA).\n\n\u201cEvery year I am proud to nominate a diverse group of high school seniors from the Tampa Bay area to attend our nation\u2019s prestigious service academies,\u201d Castor said. \u201cThese impressive students are tomorrow\u2019s leaders, and I\u2019m encouraged that our best and the brightest want to serve America.\u201d\n\nDue to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Rep. Castor held her annual Academy Day virtually.\n\nReceiving a nomination to one of our nation\u2019s military academies is an essential step towards receiving an appointment to the academies. Nominations are earned based upon each student\u2019s interview with Castor\u2019s Nomination Committee, their academic record, participation in extracurricular activities and demonstrated leadership qualities. Because of the stringent application requirements, many students begin working on what it takes to apply as early as their first year of high school.\n\nBased upon the process established by federal law, all U.S. military academies, except the Coast Guard Academy, require either a service-connected or Congressional nomination (from their member of Congress, U.S. Senator or the Vice President of the United States). Parents and students interested in the nomination process can work with their school guidance counselors and find more information at https://castor.house.gov/constituentservices/serviceacademynominations.htm.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m grateful for the time and effort my Nomination Committee puts in every year to thoroughly review each application and meet with each student individually, but especially so this year as we adapted to a virtual process,\u201d Castor continued. \u201cTampa Bay is a patriotic community, and our committee is proud of our role in developing the bright young leaders that will shape the future of America\u2019s armed forces and our nation.\u201d\n\nCastor will announce official appointments at a later date after being notified of appointments by the academies. Today\u2019s announcement is the conclusion of Castor\u2019s 2020 competitive nomination process. The nominees who receive an appointment from a U.S. military academy will attend their respective academies in the 2021-2022 school year.\n\nU.S. Rep. Castor granted her nomination to the following students for one or more of the U.S. military academies:\n\nCooper Jackson, Cambridge Christian School \u2013 USMA\n\nLeo Sterns, Gaither High School + Valdosta State \u2013 USAFA\n\nZachary Cottongim, Hillsborough High School \u2013 USNA, USMA\n\nOlivia Kasper, Hillsborough High School \u2013 USNA\n\nNicole Garcia, Jefferson High School \u2013 USAFA\n\nJonas Jonsson, Jesuit High School \u2013 USMMA\n\nIan Aguilar, King High School \u2013 USAFA, USNA\n\nGabrielle Hernandez, Middleton High School \u2013 USMA\n\nLauren Piacitelli, Middleton High School \u2013 USAFA, USMA\n\nMichael Hodgson, Mitchell High School \u2013 USNA\n\nIan McGary, Plant High School \u2013 USNA, USMA\n\nEvans Taylor, Plant High School \u2013 USNA, USMA\n\nVance Dimmick, Plant High School \u2013 USMA\n\nThomas Nagle, Plant High School \u2013 USAFA\n\nAidan Lindsey, Plant High School \u2013 USMMA\n\nMargaret Courtney, Robinson High School \u2013 USAFA, USMA\n\nSara Arroyave, Robinson High School \u2013 USAFA, USNA, USMMA\n\nMaxwell Mondo, Sickles High School \u2013 USAFA, USNA\n\nLuke Barrow, Sickles High School \u2013 USMA\n\nShreyas Kallimath, Sickles High School \u2013 USAFA\n\nKinaree Adkins, Singapore American School \u2013 USNA\n\nConner Aeschbach, South County High School \u2013 USNA\n\nSohan Khanvilkar, Steinbrenner High School \u2013 USAFA\n\nDavid Hoyt, Tampa Catholic \u2013 USMA\n\n###\n\n----\n\nRikki Miller\n\nPress Secretary\n\nOffice of Congresswoman Kathy Castor (FL-14)\n\nph: o. 202-225-3376 / c. (202)-344-9419\n\nClick here to sign up for Congresswoman Castor's Email Updates", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-28T00:39:51Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://castor.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=403451"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.519056037068367, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}