{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://castor.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=405098", "Castor Announces 2025 Nominations to Prestigious U.S. Service Academies", "2025-12-05", "2025", "2025-12", "Democrat", "House", "FL", "Kathy Castor", "C001066", "castor.house.gov", "castor", "https://castor.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx", "scraper", "TAMPA, Fla. \u2013 Today, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (FL-14) announced 16 Tampa Bay area students who received nominations for admission into America\u2019s prestigious service academies: Air Force Academy (USAFA), Naval Academy (USNA), Military Academy (USMA) and the Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA). The outstanding student leaders hail from more than ten local high schools in Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties.\n\n\u201cThese talented students are America\u2019s future leaders. Their interest in serving our country is a point of pride for our patriotic Tampa Bay community,\u201d said Rep. Castor. \u201cI\u2019m grateful for the service of my Nomination Committee, which thoroughly reviews every application and interviews interested students. I am confident that this year's nominees will represent the Tampa Bay Area and our nation well.\u201d\n\nPhotos of the nominees can be found here.\n\nReceiving a nomination to one of our nation\u2019s service academies is an essential step towards receiving an appointment to the academies. Nominations are earned based on 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 preparing for the application process as early as their first year of high school.\n\nUnder federal law, all U.S. military academies, except the Coast Guard Academy, require either a service-connected nomination or a congressional nomination (from a member of Congress in either the U.S. House or Senate or the Vice President of the United States). Parents and students interested in the nomination process can work with their school guidance counselors. You can learn more here: Service Academy Nominations | U.S. Representative Kathy Castor (house.gov).\n\nCastor will announce official appointments at a later date after being notified of appointments by the academies.\n\nToday\u2019s announcement is the conclusion of Castor\u2019s 2025 competitive nomination process. The nominees who receive an appointment from a U.S. military academy will attend their respective academies in the 2026-2027 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\nMalik K. Robinson, Northeast High School - USAFA\n\nKatelynn R. McEntee, Walter L. Sickles High School - USMA and USAFA (not pictured)\n\nKaylee M. DeLory, Walter L. Sickles High School - USAFA\n\nNicholas C. Zamprogno, Robinson High School IB Program - USAFA and USNA\n\nKonrad J. Paradies, Steinbrenner High School - USAFA\n\nWilliam D. Baker, H.B. Plant High School - USAFA and USNA\n\nSimon Smith, Walter L. Sickles High School - USAFA, USMMA, USNA\n\nCade C. Holland, Jesuit High School - USAFA and USNA\n\nRobert K. Bossowski, Jesuit High School - USNA\n\nJohn D. Williams, Salisbury School - USMA and USNA\n\nJesse D. Cogburn, Jesuit High School - USNA\n\nRoman A. Neske, H.B. Plant High School - USNA\n\nSawyer J. Burns, Dr. Earl J Lennard High School - USNA and USMMA\n\nElijah R. Chames, US Military Academy Prep School - USMA\n\nDecker W. Deady, Berkeley Preparatory School - USNA\n\nAsher Koontz, Jesuit High School - USNA", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "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=405098"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7539652287960052, "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"}