RSPA Announces 2025-26 RSPA Scholarship Recipients, Program Updates

RALEIGH, NC – The RSPA announced the 2025-26 RSPA Scholarship Program recipients at RetailNOW 2025, held July 27-29 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. This upcoming school year, 56 students associated with RSPA member companies will receive financial support to continue their post-secondary education.

The newly selected 2025-26 RSPA Scholarship Program recipients include:

Dave & Norma McCarthy Family Scholarship ($10,000 scholarship)

  • Harris Breitling, Wake Forest University

Stanley and Shirley Hayman Founder’s Scholarship ($3,500 scholarship)

  • Nikita Aistov, The University of Sydney

Steve Cuntz Memorial Scholarship ($3,500 scholarship)

  • Robert Rupp, Emory University

Ann Maynard “Butterfly Effect” Memorial Scholarship (two $3,000 scholarships)

  • Jocelyn Howell, University of Texas
  • Mary Cowan, University of Washington

Mendiratta Agrawal Scholarship ($2,500 scholarship)

  • Arthur Gordon III, Johns Hopkins University

Datacap Systems Scholarship ($2,500 scholarship)

  • Simon Rupp, Johns Hopkins University

John B. Lockington Memorial Scholarship ($2,500 scholarship)

  • Ashley Jones, University of Wisconsin La Crosse

Danny Vaughan Memorial Scholarship ($2,500 scholarship)

  • Jaclyn Ha, Pasadena City College

RSPA Anniversary Scholarship ($2,500 scholarship)

  • Evan Kamriguel, The University of Tulsa

RSPA General Scholarships ($1,500-$2,000 scholarships)

  • Johnny Alpuerto, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
  • Matthew Andrews, University of South Carolina
  • Charlie Atterholm, University of California, Santa Barbara
  • Kylie Baker, Northwest Missouri State University
  • Arianna Baxter, University of Calgary
  • Pearl Ying Yu Chan, University of Toronto
  • Sydney Colin, University of Georgia
  • Peyton Colin, Georgia College & State University
  • Ryan Cowie, Clemson University
  • Bianca Daskalov, McGill University
  • Allison Dilbert, Thomas More University
  • Connor Earles, University of Dubuque
  • Abigail Gorski, University of Wisconsin La Crosse
  • Ezra Gosman, Virginia Tech
  • Colin Hardjowasito, Simon Fraser University
  • Emma Hitts, Wayne State College
  • David Houston, University of Washington
  • Sruti Iyer, Columbia University
  • Taylor Jacobs, The Ohio State University
  • Aaron Jones, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
  • Abby Jones, University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee
  • Nicholas Julian, Central Christian College of Kansas
  • Elif Kaya, Florida International University
  • Roman Linkugel, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
  • Kylie Malott, Eastern Kentucky University
  • Jessica Malyvanh, Middle Tennessee State University
  • Ansley Martin, University of South Carolina
  • Cadence Maynard, North Carolina State University
  • Adelaide Nagy, Clemson University
  • Makenna Oswald, University of Nebraska – Omaha
  • Kaitlyn Oswald, University of Nebraska at Omaha
  • Rudra Patel, The Ohio State University
  • Brogan Peterson, Middle Tennessee State University
  • Tabitha Phelps, University of Tennessee
  • Greta Reed, Syracuse University
  • Luke Seyer, Southeast Missouri State University
  • Clare Slocum, Bellarmine University
  • Kate Slocum, Morehead State University
  • Rylan Smith, Colorado State University
  • Kelly Snyder, Augustana College
  • Isabella Stetz, Brookdale Community College
  • Caeden Tollefsen, Carroll University
  • William Tran, University of California Irvine
  • Brooklyn VerWey, University of South Dakota
  • Olive Williams, University of Cincinnati Blue Ash
  • Colston Wisotzki, Fairfield University

Since the inception of the RSPA Scholarship Program, the RSPA has awarded over 2,000 merit scholarships and nearly $3 million to families of member companies. The children and grandchildren of RSPA members are eligible for merit-based scholarships to help ease the costs associated with post-secondary education.

Scholarship Program Updates from RetailNOW 2025
During the RetailNOW 2025 General Session, Nash Kumar of HANASIS announced that he and his family are donating an additional $25,000 this year and plan to donate another $25,000 next year to expand the overall Mendiratta Agrawal Scholarship contribution to $100,000, helping to fund a second $2,500 scholarship award beginning in 2026. For more details on the Mendiratta Agrawal Scholarship, follow this link.

Also at RetailNOW 2025, the RSPA announced that scholarships are now available to all RSPA member organizations, removing the previous requirement of three consecutive years of membership. This change reflects our growing membership and expands this valuable benefit to more members.

The RSPA Scholarship Fund hosted a friendly team fundraising competition during RetailNOW 2025 with the Academic Avengers, Wonder Funders, and Winged Wishes leading the effort under the guidance of their team captains and lead scholarship volunteer Christine Leduc. The competition was a record-breaking success, generating $19,293 in donations to support scholarships for the children and grandchildren of RSPA members.

A special congratulations to team Winged Wishes for winning this year’s competition. Led by captains Brett Bennett (POSitive Techonology), Travis Hare (ID TECH), and Kelly Giles (Round 2 POS), the team raised $7,490. The Academic Avengers were captained by Kelli Stewart (POS.com) and Lora Coggins (Partner Tech) while the Wonder Funders were led by Christine Duffy (Star Micronics) and Kate Orara (Elo).

We thank them and all scholarship volunteers for their incredible commitment to supporting scholarships for the next generation of our industry.

For more information on the RSPA Scholarship Program, visit www.GoRSPA.org/Scholarship or email the RSPA Member Services Team of Peggy Fry, Nicole Greene, and Catina Bell at Membership@GoRSPA.org.

About RSPA (Retail Solutions Providers Association)
The RSPA is North America’s largest community of VARs, software providers, vendors, and distributors in the retail, restaurant, and grocery verticals. The mission of the RSPA is to accelerate the success of its members in the retail technology ecosystem by providing knowledge and connections. The organization offers member-to-member warm introductions, education, legal advice, industry advocacy, and other services to assist members with becoming and remaining successful. RSPA is most well-known for its signature events, RetailNOW® and Inspire®, which provide face-to-face learning and networking opportunities. Learn more by visiting www.GoRSPA.org.