Two Alachua County Public Schools (ACPS) students were recently named Sunshine State Scholars, placing them among Florida’s top science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) high school juniors.  

Navya Goyal of Gainesville High School and Amy Xiao of Buchholz High School were chosen for the recognition “based on their extensive academic and extracurricular resumes and essays they wrote about the nation’s STEM-related challenges and what they would do to address those challenges,” according to an ACPS press release. 

Goyal is currently enrolled in the Cambridge program at GHS, having already earned seven college credits. She’s a member of the Psi Alpha Honor Society and leads the school’s STEM Club. Since elementary school, Goyal has received recognition in math, science and business competitions. This includes earning a first-place award at the regional Brain Bee Championship that allowed her to compete at the national level. 

The junior has also volunteered as a tutor in math, reading and biology, worked as a research intern at a local chemical engineering firm and contributed over 350 hours to the North Florida Sewing Center, helping provide resources for the homeless and other populations. 

In her qualifying essay for the Sunshine State Scholars program, Goyal addressed the problem of misinformation on STEM-related subjects, specifically health-related issues. The release states that Goyal is “interested in developing the ability of AI to help people identify false and unsupported content and provide them with accurate information.” She also wants to help her peers become more media-literate, the release said. 

“While there are many potential solutions to the spread of misinformation, I believe the best solution would be to target both ends of the spectrum — new generations and the influencers that shape the worldview on a daily basis,” Goyal wrote. 

Xiao, who currently maintains a weighted grade point average above 4.8, has been part of Buchholz’s national championship math team, the science team and HOSA-Future Health Professionals, having won numerous national, state and regional awards with those organizations. She is also a key member of the marching and symphonic bands and the Buchholz Wind Symphony and is part of the Tri-M Music Honor Society. In addition to her extracurricular activities, Xiao also finds time to tutor at a local center and work as a research intern in a lab at the University of Florida College of Medicine. 

Xiao’s qualifying essay focused on American students’ poor performance in math and science, leading to a gap between the rapid pace of technological advances and the shortage of young people qualified to work in STEM fields. She says she’s been able to help students she’s tutored master concepts through interactive instruction. 

“America’s greatest STEM challenge is to improve math and science education and close the gap by preparing students with the necessary skills in STEM areas,” Xiao wrote. “By mentoring younger students and continuing to build my own STEM abilities, I believe I can make a meaningful contribution toward resolving the challenge.” 

Goyal and Xiao will attend the 2026 Sunshine State Scholar program in Orlando in early March, where they will have the chance to network with STEM employers and college/university representatives from across Florida and attend workshops on college applications and funding.